;-NRLF 


WHERE  INDUSTRIAL  LIQUIDS 
C'O  v ::  FROM  AND  WHERE  THEY  GO 


GIFT   OF 
Professor   Fritz 


FORISTRY 


LCC'J  Of..:'.  AGRICULTURE 


Where  Industrial 
Liquids  come  from 
and  where  thetg  go 


Standard  Tank  Car  Company 


Offices: 
New  York  Pittsburgh  St.  Louis 

\\oolworth  Bldg.      Union  Arcade  Bldg.         Arcade  Bldg. 

Works:  Sharon,  Pa. 


Chicago 
Peoples  Gas  Bldg. 


5U11 


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j^  *•**  s  s 

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EN  £  £-  3  S 

CO  <*,         s  ^ 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER.  PAGE. 

INTRODUCTION. 

The  Service  of  the  Tank  Car H 

PETROLEUM. 

I.  History  of  Petroleum  and  its  Products  Tracing  the  Development  of 
Their  Uses;  Production,  Refining  and  Transportation;  Occurrence 
of  Petroleum  in  the  United  States  and  Foreign  Countries 16 

CASINGHEAD  GASOLINE 

II.  The  Effect  of  the  Automobile  on  the  Production  of  Gasoline 36 

COAL-TAR. 

III.  Development   of    the    Manufacture    of    Dyestuffs,    Refined  Drugs    and 

Chemicals    40 

TURPENTINE  AND  ROSIN. 

IV.  Their   Production    as    the    First   American    Industry;    How    the    Pine 

Forests  Are  Tapped  for  these  Products  and  their  Wide  Usage 44 

ALCOHOL. 

V.  Ethyl   and  Methyl 49 

SULPHURIC  ACID. 

VI.  The  Making  and  Use  of  this  Most  Important  of  Commercial  Chemicals.  55 

MURIATIC  ACID. 

VII.  Another  Primary  Ingredient  of  Many  Industries 59 

NITRIC  ACID. 

VIII.  The  Importance  of  Nitric  Acid  in  the  Manufacture  of  Explosives 61 

CHLORINE. 

IX.  The  Use  of  Chlorine  in  the  Development  of  Modern  Bleaching 63 

CAUSTIC  SODA. 

X.  Its     Service     in     the     Manufacture    of    Many     Products     and     as     a 

Sterilizer     67 

POTASH. 

XI.  The  Great  Demand   for  Potash  and  the  Recent  Efforts   to  Increase 

Production  in  the  United  States..  69 


666425 


CHAPTER. 

ACETONE. 

XII.          The  Employment  of  Acetone  in  Explosives  and  as  a  Solvent. 

ETHER. 

XIII.  An  Anaesthetic,  and  an  Ingredient  in  Smokeless  Powder 


AMMONIA. 

XIV.  The  Use  of  Ammonia  in  Refrigeration 


EXPLOSIVES. 

XV.  The  Part  of  Explosives  in   the  Pursuits  of  Peace;   Liquids  that   Go 

to  Make  Them. . 


TANNIC  ACID. 

XVI.  Processes  in  the  Making  of  Leather 


CASTOR  OIL. 

XVII.  A  Medicine,  and  a  Lubricant  for  Delicate  Machinery 

COTTON  SEED  OIL. 

XVIII.           How  This  and  Other  Oils  Are  Used  in  the  Manufacture  of  Compound 
Lard  and  Oleomargarine 

CORN  OIL. 

XIX.  A  Fine  Edible  Oil  from  Indian  Corn. . 


LINSEED  OIL. 

XX.           The  Value  of  this  Oil  from  Flax  Seed  in  the  Manufacture  of  Paint 
and  in  Other  Industries 

NUT  OILS. 

XXI.          How  Cocoanut  and  Peanut  Oils  Contribute  to  the  World's  Foods 


SOYA  BEAN  OIL. 

XXII.           A  New  Product  for  America  that  is  Useful  in  Manufacturing  Food- 
stuffs and  as  a  Substitute  for  Linseed  Oil 


OLIVE  OIL. 

XXIII.  Its  Long  History  and  the  Reasons  for  its  Great  Value. 


WHALE  OIL. 

XXIV.  Methods  of  Whale  Fishing  and  the  Uses  of  the  Oil;  Other  Fish  Oils. . 

SOAP. 

XXV.           The  Uses  of  Fats,  Oils  and  Alkalies  in  Making  Soap ;  Different  Kinds 
of  Soap   

LARD. 

XXVI.  A  Great  Food  Product  from  Hogs 


PAGE. 

72 

73 

74 

78 
81 
87 

90 
93 

95 
98 

100 
102 
104 

107 
112 


CHAPTER.  PAGE. 

LARD  OIL. 

XXVII.    A  Valuable  Oil  Expressed  from  Lard 114 

GLYCERIN. 

XXVIII.     The  Source  of  Glycerin  and  Its  Application  in  Medicine  and  Manu- 
facturing    115 

SILICATE  OF  SODA. 

XXIX.     Its  Use  in  Soap  and  for  Preserving  Eggs 116 

CALCIUM  CHLORIDE  BRINE. 

XXX.     A  Salt  Solution  Used  in  Preserving  Fish,  Meats  and  Vegetables 117 

OXALIC  ACID. 

XXXI.     An  Acid  Used  in  Dyeing  and  Printing  Textiles 118 

CARBON  BISULPHIDE. 

XXXII.     An  Important  Industrial  Solvent 120 

ZINC  CHLORIDE. 

XXXIII.  Another    Useful    Solvent 122 

ARSENIC  SOLUTION. 

XXXIV.  Employed  to  Kill  Weeds  on  Railroad  Roadbeds 123 

LACTIC  ACID. 

XXXV.     An  Agent  in  Dyeing  and  in  the  Chrome  Process  of  Tanning  Leather. .  124 

MOLASSES. 

XXXVI.     How  it  is  Made  as  a  By-Product  of  Sugar  Refining 125 

GLUCOSE. 

XXXVII.    The    Base    of    Corn    Syrups    and  of    Many    Preserves,    Jellies    and 

Confections   129 

VINEGAR. 

XXXVIII.     Simple  Methods  of  its  Manufacture  for  the  Table  and  the  Importance 

of  Acetic  Acid  in  Industry 132 

WINE. 

XXXIX.     The  Art  of  Fermenting  Wine  and  a  Description  of  the  More  Famous 

Kinds 135 

WATER. 

XL.     How  the  Tank  Car  Answers  the  "S.  O.  S."  Call  for  Water 140 

XLI.     Ideals  of  Business  Expressed  in  Standard  Tank  Cars 141 

7 


INDEX  TO  ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING 
TITLE  PAGE 

Acetic  Acid  Condensers 133 

American  Planes  in  Battle  Formation 39 

America's  First  Sugar  Beet  Refinery 126 

Anaesthetics  in  the  War 73 

Arteries  Which  Distribute  Fuel,  Power  and 

Light,  The 17 

Bleeding  a  Rubber  Tree  in  South  America..  120 

Calking  a  Wooden  Ship 47 

Cavalry  of  the  Power  Plant,  The 25 

Colorado  Hog  Farm,  A 113 

Completing  the  Panama  Canal 79 

Cooking  for  Black  and  Red  Tar  Products..  41 

Cotton  in  Flower  and  in  Fruit 90 

Drake,  Col.  E.  L.,  Portrait  of 19 

Dyeing  Silk 124 

Explosives  in  Agriculture 62 

Filling  Tubs  with  Pure  Lard 112 

First  Oil  Well,  The 22 

Flax  Field  in  Wyoming,  A 95 

Gathering  Sugar  Cane  in  Cuba 125 

Handling  Crude  Soap 110 

Harvesting  Grapes  in  California 135 

Harvesting  Kelp  on  the  Pacific  Coast 69 

Helping  America  Feed  the  World 24 

Helping  Man  Remodel  the  Earth 78 

How  a  Transportation  Problem  was  met  in 

East  Africa 121 

Jerusalem  and  the  Mount  of  Olives 102 

Kansas  Salt  Mine,  A 68 

Keeping  Fish  Fresh 74 

Lard  for  Lard  Oil 114 

Liquid  Transportation  in  Arabia 101 

Louisiana  Turpentine  Still,  A 45 

Making  Soap 107 

Making  Tannic  Acid 82 

Making  Wall  and  Floor  Tile 63 

Missouri  Apple  Orchard,  A 132 

Modernizing  the  Oldest  American  Industry.  46 

Modern  Sugar  Cane  Mill,  A 127 

Modern  Way  Dreadnaughts  Get  Fuel,  The.  29 
Moving  Liquids  on  the  Nile 86 


FACING 
TITLE  PAGE 

Oklahoma  Soya  Bean  Field,  An 100 

Opening  a  Gusher  in  the  Tampico  Fields...  26 

Packing  Salt  Fish 117 

Partners  in  the  Nation's  Prosperity 28 

Preparing  Coal  Tar  Dyes 40 

Preparing  Goat  Skins  for  Water  Transpor- 
tation    106 

Preparing  Plate  Glass 55 

Primitive  Method  of  Transporting  Oil,  A...  116 

Producing  the  Bathroom  Article Ill 

Raising  Castor  Beans  in  Florida 87 

Saving  Time  in  Unloading  Tank  Cars 23 

Scene  on  a  Peanut  Plantation,  A 99 

Service  which  Brought  in  the  Oil  Age 16 

Source  of  Naval  Stores,  The 44 

Standard  Tank  Car  Company  Works  at  Sha- 
ron, Pa 141 

Standard  Type  Standard  Tank  Car,  A 5 

Supplying    Industry    with    its    Indispensable 

Lubricant 30 

Supplying  Liquids  in  Palestine 103 

Tank  Cars  at  a  Loading  Rack 31 

Tank  Cars  in  France 72 

Tanks  that  Make  Our  Highways  Smooth  for 

Commerce,   The 27 

Through  Snow  and  Storm  the  Tank  Car  Car- 
ries On 1 34 

Turning     By-products     from     Waste     into 

Wealth   115 

Typical  Corn  Field  in  Nebraska,  A 94 

Uncle  Sam's  Seal  of  Approval 75 

Vats  for  Tanning  Leather 83 

View  in  a  Cottonseed  Oil  Mill,  A 91 

View  of  the  Occurrence  and  Mining  of  Gas 

and  Oil 18 

Way  Cocoanuts  Grow,  The 98 

Whales  for  Oil  and  Food 104 

When  Norfolk,  Va.,  Went  Dry 140 

Where  Power  and  Speed  Depend  on  Tank 

Car  Service 38 

Where  West  Meets  East  at  the  Golden  Gate.  105 
Wood  Alcohol  Manufacturing  Plant 54 


PREFACE 


"Standard  Tank  Car  Journeys"  is  a  sequel  to 
"All  About  Tank  Cars." 

The  earlier  book  is  a  guide  that  should  be  at  the 
elbow  of  every  tank  car  lessee  and  owner;  it  in- 
cludes detailed  specifications  for  all  types  of  tank 
cars,  full  information  on  mileage  earnings  and  tank 
car  accounting,  the  text  of  the  Master  Car  Builders 
and  government  requirements,  and  much  other  de- 
tailed and  general  information  one  should  have  to 
secure  the  most  economical  and  satisfactory  oper- 
ation of  cars. 

"Standard  Tank  Car  Journeys"  takes  in  a 
broader  field.  It  is  a  non-technical  account  of  the 
parts  played  in  industry  by  the  many  commodities 
handled  in  Standard  Tank  Cars — and  tank  cars  in 
general.  It  is  presented  as  an  interesting  and  in- 
structive treatise  on  the  vital  service  of  tank  cars, 
with  the  hope  that  each  and  all  of  us  connected  with 
the  wide  and  important  employment  of  liquids 
in  industry  may  gain  a  clearer  view  of  our  func- 
tions as  they  are  related  to  the  work  of  the  nation 
and  the  world,  and  secure  some  larger  measure  of 
inspiration  from  our  daily  tasks. 


COPYRIGHT  1920 
STANDARD   TANK   CAR   COMPANY 

NEW  YORK,  PITTSBURGH,  ST.  Louis,  CHICAGO 


Prepared  and  written  by 
D'ARCY  ADVERTISING  COMPANY 

ST.  Louis 


INTRODUCTION 


The  Service  of  the  Tank  Car 

HE  man  who  wants  to  know  what  the  industrial 
world  is  doing  today,  with  the  new  post-bellum 
vision  before  us,  could  not  get  a  Cook's  guide,  but 
he  can  find  a  directory  to  the  vital  spots  no  less  accurate  than 
the  sophisticated  gentlemen  who  lead  our  school  girl  parties 
to  the  Old  World  seats  of  history,  romance  and  art.  The 
itinerary,  covering  the  whole  country,  would  be  traced  in 
the  journeys  of  the  railroad  tank  car. 

It  is  remarkable  how  one  unit  in  our  vast  industrial  system 
can  so  closely  weave  itself  into  the  warp  and  woof  of  the 
whole.  The  tank  car,  the  common  carrier  of  liquids,  is  as 
vital  in  its  sphere  as  the  coal  car  is  to  the  activities  it  serves. 
Moreover,  the  tank  car  has  in  its  construction  such  engineer- 
ing features  as  prohibit  substitutes — placing  it  in  this  respect 
in  a  class  among  railway  transports  comparable  only  to 
refrigerator  cars  for  perishable  foodstuffs. 

Just  as  to  know  American  industries  one  must  follow  the 
tank  car,  to  know  the  tank  car  one  must  consider  the  indus- 
tries. 

Obviously,  the  first  on  the  list  is  the  petroleum  industry. 
This  industry  brought  the  tank  car  into  existence  and  caused 


11 


its  development  to  its  present  perfection.  Its  demands  have 
had  a  tremendous  effect  on  the  growth  of  other  liquid  indus- 
tries and,  through  its  employment  of  the  tank  car,  it  revealed 
to  all  of  them  efficient  methods  of  transportation. 

The  petroleum  industry  feeds  power  to  innumerable 
motors  that  have  revolutionized  civilized  life,  turns  the 
evening  into  lighted  hours  in  even  the  remotest  abodes  of 
mankind.  It  lubricates  the  world's  machinery,  supplies 
fuel  to  giant  furnaces  and  engines  on  land  and  to  the  ships 
of  our  Navy  and  Merchant  Marine,  and  provides  an  ever 
increasing  number  of  products  for  various  benefits — all 
made  possible  largely  through  the  efficiency  of  the  tank  car. 

Do  you  know  the  story  of  how  millions  of  dollars  annually 
were  wasted  in  cotton  seed  before  the  manufacture  and  uses 
of  cotton  seed  oil  were  developed?  This  valuable  oil,  now 
the  base  of  many  foods,  is  brought  to  market  in  the  tank  car, 
an  8,000  gallon  tank  car  being  the  standard  of  measure  of 
quantity  on  the  Eastern  Market. 

Cotton  seed  oil  is  but  one  of  many  valuable  vegetable  oils 
with  which  the  tank  car  serves  industry. 

Manufacturers  of  paints  and  varnishes,  weavers  of  silk 
and  fine  cotton  goods,  producers  of  soap,  makers  of  roofing, 
builders  of  streets  and  roads,  tanners  of  leather,  foundries 
and  rolling  mills  and  a  long  list  of  other  industries  depend 
upon  the  tank  car  to  deliver  to  them  the  necessary  quantities 
of  commercial  liquids. 


12 


The  tank  car  is  handling  more  and  more  foodstuffs,  in- 
cluding molasses,  wine,  vinegar,  pickles,  skimmed  milk  and 
water. 

You  can  point  to  scarcely  a  manufactured  article  about  you 
that  the  tank  car  has  not  had  a  part  in  the  making  of.  Take 
the  glass  in  the  window  before  you.  The  tank  car  carried  the 
sulphuric  acid  and  other  ingredients  that  went  into  its  mak- 
ing. The  printed  sheet  before  your  eyes — rosin  and  linseed 
oil,  shipped  in  the  tank  car,  helped  make  the  paper  and  the 
ink. 

Chemistry,  which  has  played  such  a  dominant  part  in  the 
development  of  petroleum,  has  built  an  industrial  world  with 
other  products — acids,  salts  and  alkalies.  Through  the 
mastery  of  the  tank  car  over  dangerous  liquid  chemicals, 
industrial  America  is  served  with  many  of  its  primary  ingre- 
dients. 

America  no  longer  is  dependent  on  the  old  world  for 
aniline  dyes.  By-products  from  coal  have  given  these 
materials  and  many  other  commodities  that  are  essential  to 
many  manufactories,  and  you  must  have  the  tank  car  to 
transport  coal-tar  and  its  distillates. 

The  tank  car's  use  is  measured  by  industry  itself.  Its 
influence  does  not  stop  with  the  cities  but  touches  every 
town  and  hamlet,  even  the  most  isolated  farm.  America's 
dependence  on  the  tank  car  is  far  greater  than  most  men 
realize. 

Just  suppose  for  a  moment  that  the  tank  car  was  elimi- 
nated. 


13 


Some  years  ago  an  impending  strike  of  coal  miners  in 
England  threatened  a  parallel  case.  The  late  William  T. 
Stead,  famous  English  journalist,  cabled  a  dispatch  to 
American  newspapers  which  began  with  this  terse  sentence : 

"England  today  is  on  the  brink  of  Hell." 

English  industry  could  not  live  without  coal  and  the 
nation  could  not  live  without  its  industries.  Just  so  with 
the  tank  car — there  would  be  a  stopping  of  wheels  and  a 
halting  of  manufacturing  and  business  if  the  tank  car  did 
not  "carry  on." 

The  future  of  the  tank  car  is  great  as  the  futures  of 
the  petroleum  industry,  industrial  chemicals,  vegetable  oils 
and  the  great  kingdom  of  industrial  liquids  are  great;  for 
the  tank  car  is  not  of  that  class  of  machinery  which  time  soon 
makes  obsolete.  Fundamentally,  the  tank  car  is  as  stable 
as  the  box  car;  and  as  it  has  been  adjusted  to  meet  the 
peculiar  requirements  of  each  industry  it  serves,  so  it 
improves  with  each  new  demand  for  it. 

The  consciousness  of  the  scope  of  this  vital  service  is 
expressed  in  the  engineering  and  mechanical  perfection  of 
Standard  Tank  Cars.  Adjustments  adapt  them  to  the 
whole  wide  variety  of  liquid  transportation — always  with 
reliability. 

"Standard  Tank  Car  Journeys,"  while  a  study  of  the  use 
of  tank  cars  in  general,  actually  is  an  account  of  the  employ- 
ment of  Standard  Tank  Cars.  Every  industry  requiring 
modern  liquid  transportation  has  commanded  the  study  and 


14 


effort  of  the  Standard  Tank  Car  Company  to  supply  its 
particular  need. 

The  journeys  are  many,  each  with  its  own  distinct  inter- 
est— where  the  various  commodities  come  from  and  where 
they  go.  Glimpses  of  each  of  the  separate  routes  finally 
combine  to  form  the  full  and  complete  picture  of  the  services 
of  Standard  Tank  Cars — a  picture  that  tells  the  story  of 
tank  cars  in  general. 


16 


CHAPTER     I 


Petroleum 


History  of  Petroleum  and  its  Products,  Tracing 

the  Development  of  their  Uses— Occurrence 

of  Petroleum  in  the  United  States 

and  Foreign  Countries 

HERE  is  no  magic  in  the  "Arabian  Nights"  like  the 
true  story  of  petroleum.  Known  since  the  begin- 
ning of  recorded  history,  it  remained  for  our  own 
time  and  largely  to  our  country  to  win  its  great  wealth  and 
speed  industry  into  what  many  term  the  "Oil  Age." 

Petroleum  has  relieved  human  hands  of  much  onerous 
toil  and  provided  many  delights  that  are  personified  in  the 
motor  boat  and  the  automobile.  Yet  the  thought  that  grips 
the  imagination  strongest  is  of  the  huge  fortunes  that  come 
to  those  who  discover  the  great  reservoirs  of  crude  oil  that 
are  hidden  deep  down  in  the  crust  of  the  earth. 

We  learn  of  the  ancient  history  of  petroleum  from  Hero- 
dotus, who  refers  to  the  oil  pits  near  Babylon,  and  from 
Pliny,  who  mentions  illuminating  oil  from  Sicily.  The 
ancient  Chinese  and  Japanese  used  it  for  heating  and  light- 
ing and  for  medicinal  purposes,  calling  it  "burning  water." 
The  American  Indians  knew  of  its  possibilities  as  a  fuel 


16 


and  used  it  for  healing  purposes  300  years  ago,  securing 
their  supply  by  skimming  pools  and  creeks.  But  time  made 
little  impression  on  its  use  until  the  latter  half  of  the  nine- 
teenth century. 

The  swift  movement  of  the  industry  to  its  present  state  is 
shown  most  graphically  by  what  it  has  done  to  some  of  the 
ancient  race  of  Red  Men  who  first  discovered  the  oil  in 
America.  An  example  is  the  Osages,  who  were  shipped 
to  a  reservation  that  now  is  a  part  of  Oklahoma.  A  tribe 
of  more  than  2,000  draws  an  annual  royalty  of  more  than 
$5,000  each  from  oil  lands  that  have  been  leased  through  the 
government. 

Geological  science,  which  now  speaks  with  authority  on 
the  sources  of  petroleum,  played  a  minor  part  in  the  dis- 
covery of  most  of  the  world's  supply.  Chance,  the  spirit  of 
adventure  and  common  sense,  those  qualities  that  have  given 
the  white  man  dominion  over  the  earth,  revealed  the  great 
oil  fields.  The  conflict  between  the  two  viewpoints  con- 
tinues today,  for  while  geologists  claim  that  the  sources  are 
limited  and  rather  clearly  defined,  especially  in  the  United 
States,  many  successful  oil  men  believe  that  before  many 
years  oil  will  be  discovered  in  every  State  in  the  Union. 

As  to  the  origin  of  the  oil,  the  explanation  of  the  geologist 
prevails,  though  the  subject  long  was  in  dispute  between 
scientific  minds.  The  theory  is  that  petroleum  is  the  product 
of  distillation  within  the  crust  of  the  earth  of  marine  organ- 
isms, sometimes  vegetable  and  sometimes  animal,  and  under 
normal  temperature  and  pressure.  These  organisms  sank 
in  death,  perhaps  millions  of  years  ago,  to  the  bottom  of  the 


17 


sea  and  under  the  pressure  of  water  were  covered  over  with 
ooze  and  sand.  Through  the  centuries  they  decomposed 
and  were  distilled.  The  great  geological  changes  in  the 
crust  of  the  earth  raised  sea  bottoms  to  wide  plains,  uphea- 
vals made  mountains  and  valleys. 

The  great  pressure  from  these  changes  forced  the  oil  from 
the  rocks  and  sand  where  it  was  absorbed  and  made  pools 
of  it. 

The  force  of  gases  from  the  liquid  caused  great  pressure 
on  the  walls  of  these  subterranean  pools  and  the  first  dis- 
coveries of  petroleum  were  the  result  of  oil  oozing  out  on 
the  earth's  surface.  Even  great  pools  were  laid  bare  to  the 
sky,  as  evidenced  by  the  Trinidad  asphalt  lake.  This  won- 
derful lake,  scientists  tell  us,  is  a  petroleum  pool  from  which 
the  volatile  oils  have  evaporated. 

A  point  of  more  human  interest  is  a  means  of  discovering 
petroleum  deposits  that  have  not  revealed  themselves  on  the 
earth's  surface.  Long  ago  the  known  oil  fields  have  been 
taken  up.  The  rapidly  increasing  demand  for  the  oil  and 
its  products  have  shifted  the  opportunity  of  large  profits  to 
the  discovery  of  new  fields.  Geologists  have  evolved  the 
theory  of  "anticlines  and  synclines,"  by  which  oil  is  located 
in  anticlines.  The  anticlines  do  not  reveal  themselves  to 
the  layman  eye,  but  they  are  what  once  were  mountains  that 
time  has  eroded.  A  study  of  the  rock  formations  identify 
them,  the  anticlines  being  the  stumps  of  former  mountains 
and  the  synclines  the  valleys.  The  oil  is  in  the  anticlines 
because  gravity  forces  it  above  water  that  extends  to  the 


18 


Courtesy  of  Oil  News,  Chicago. 


COL.  E.  L.  DRAKE 

The  man  who  drilled  the  first  oil  well  and  who  now  is  honored 
with  anniversary  celebrations  by  oil  men. 


synclines.    Often  several  pools  exist  one  beneath  the  other, 
separated  by  strata  of  sand  and  rock. 

The  first  reference  to  petroleum  in  America  was  an  obser- 
vation of  its  use  by  the  Indians  by  a  Franciscan  missionary 
in  1627.  After  collecting  it  from  the  surface  of  creeks  and 
pools,  they  boiled  it  in  kettles  and  used  it  as  a  cure  for 
sprains,  swelling  and  rheumatism.  What  the  white  man  did 
about  it  is  not  known  until  1826,  when  it  was  collected  in  a 
manner  similar  to  that  of  the  Indians,  strained  through 
woolen  fabrics,  and  used  on  sores  in  the  manner  pointed 
out  by  the  Indians. 

The  value  of  the  oil  grew  rapidly  in  appreciation.  The 
knowledge  of  the  ancients  that  it  was  suitable  for  illumina- 
tion was  rediscovered,  and  crude  processes  of  refining  and 
purification  were  evolved.  Along  Paint  Creek,  Johnson 
County,  Kentucky,  they  dug  shallow  canals  to  catch  the 
sand  and  water  from  the  creek  and  got  the  oil  from  the  top 
by  stirring  the  flow  with  poles.  Efforts  were  made  to  mine 
the  oil  by  hand-dug  wells  where  petroleum  was  evident. 
Hand-dug  wells  played  an  important  part  in  its  early  indus- 
try in  Russia  and  Rumania.  In  Rumania  they  sunk  wells 
of  this  type,  which  were  some  five  feet  in  diameter,  as  deep 
as  450  feet.  The  oil  was  baled  out  in  earthen  and  leather 
vessels  by  means  of  a  windlass. 

Simple  methods  of  refining  that  were  in  practice  before 
the  dawn  of  the  eighteenth  century  were  greatly  improved 
before  the  real  beginning  of  the  oil  industry.  The  Cossacks 
distilled  the  product  from  the  Caucasus  before  using  it  for 


19 


combustion.  Crude  petroleum  was  experimentally  distilled 
in  the  United  States  in  1833.  An  insufficient  supply  of  the 
raw  material  was  the  great  drawback,  and  to  get  supplies  of 
illumination  oil,  a  considerable  industry  in  distilling  coal, 
or  shale,  oil  was  developed  on  Long  Island. 

The  impetus  to  the  modern  industry  came  in  1859,  when 
E.  L.  Drake,  a  railroad  conductor  from  New  York,  went  out 
prospecting  in  Pennsylvania  and  struck  oil  in  a  well  on 
Oil  Creek. 

Drake  employed  the  plan  of  modern  drilling.  He  had 
sunk  a  well  69  feet  when  suddenly  the  tools  dropped  into  a 
crevice.  The  crevice  was  a  pool  of  petroleum,  which  for  a 
time  produced  25  barrels  a  day  but  rapidly  declined.  Never- 
theless, he  opened  the  way  to  the  great  supply,  and  from  that 
date  the  industry  has  grown  and  still  is  growing  by  leaps 
and  bounds. 

The  following  table  gives  an  idea  of  the  progress  in  sup- 
plying crude  petroleum  in  the  United  States : 

1859 2,000  barrels 

1869 4,215,000  barrels 

1879 19,914,146  barrels 

1889 35,163,513  barrels 

1899 57,084,428  barrels 

1906 126,493,936  barrels 

1918 345,500,000  barrels 

There  has  been  no  hit  or  miss  policy  in  refining  petroleum 
and  applying  it  to  usage.  Here  science,  especially  chem- 
istry, has  held  undisputed  sway,  expanding  its  market  with 


20 


the  progression  of  the  years  so  that  nearly  always,  as  par- 
ticularly today,  the  supply  has  been  below  the  demand. 

Its  first  use  as  a  medicine  still  is  approved  by  physicians 
in  the  wide  employment  of  "Vaseline,"  a  salve,  and  "Nujol," 
a  clear  liquid  for  the  treatment  of  constipation.  Similar 
products  to  these  have  a  wide  application  in  medicine. 

Next  came  its  use  as  an  illuminant.  Drake's  discovery 
virtually  put  the  coal  oil  industry  out  of  business,  but  the 
shale  oil  machinery  was  adapted  to  handling  petroleum  and 
served  as  the  forerunner  of  modern  refineries.  This  early 
method  of  providing  illumination  oil  caused  kerosene  for 
a  long  time  to  be  called  "coal  oil."  For  forty  years  kerosene 
served  as  the  principal  petroleum  product.  There  is  no  finer 
commentary  on  American  business  than  the  world-wide  use 
of  American  kerosene,  extending  to  the  remotest  parts  of 
China  and  India.  Wherever  the  traveler  may  roam  he  will 
find  the  tin  container,  frequently  adapted  to  various  domes- 
tic uses,  showing  that  the  American  oil  merchant  has  pre- 
ceded him. 

Along  with  the  manufacture  of  kerosene  was  the  produc- 
tion of  lubricants.  Some  of  the  more  viscous  oils  were  suit- 
able as  lubricants  without  refining.  Refining  and  further 
treatment  quickly  brought  them  to  the  point  of  industry's 
principal  supply  of  lubricants.  Today  it  virtually  would 
be  impossible  to  provide  suitable  substitutes.  Vegetable 
and  animal  oils  thicken  and  rust  with  use,  serving  satisfac- 
torily in  most  machines  only  when  blended  with  petroleum 
products.  A  moment's  reflection  on  this  phase  of  petro- 


21 


leum's  usefulness  is  illuminating.    Proper  lubricants  are  as 
vital  to  modern  industry  as  the  power  that  drives  the  wheels. 

It  was  obvious  from  the  beginning  that  petroleum  was 
suitable  as  a  fuel.  The  difficulties  of  providing  a  uniform 
fire  were  overcome  by  the  invention  of  oil  burners,  by  means 
of  which  the  crude  oil,  and  later  the  heavier  oils  from  the 
refineries,  were  sprayed  into  furnaces  by  steam  or  compressed 
air.  Oil  fuel  saves  labor  in  firing  furnaces  and  adds  to  con- 
venience. Oils  are  more  easily  transported  than  coal.  In 
certain  parts  of  the  country,  particularly  the  Southwest  and 
California,  coal  was  inadequate  and  inaccessible  to  the 
industries  that  have  grown  up.  Because  they  give  to  war- 
ships the  maximum  fuel,  which  tends  to  high  speed  and 
more  effective  range  of  action,  fuel  oils  have  come  into  great 
use  in  the  navies  of  the  world.  Our  late  dreadnaughts  are 
oil  burners.  In  the  construction  of  our  Merchant  Marine 
the  future  of  fuel  oils  is  expanded.  To  the  other  advantages 
is  added  the  reduction  of  crews  and  availability  of  greater 
space  for  cargoes. 

Something  of  what  the  future  still  holds  is  indicated  by 
the  growing  use  of  the  crude  oil  engines,  which  use  plain 
petroleum  in  internal  combustion. 

The  possibilities  of  illumination,  lubrication  and  fuel 
from  petroleum  had  been  grasped  and  applied  before  the 
greatest  present  demand  of  petroleum  was  understood — that 
of  gasoline.  Most  encyclopedias  and  dictionaries  that  we 
have  in  our  bookshelves  don't  even  contain  the  word  "gaso- 
line." In  the  earlier  petroleum  industry  the  more  volatile 
oils  were  designated  as  naphtha.  In  the  quantities  in  which 


22 


Courtesy  of  Oil  News,  Chicago. 


THE  FIRST  OIL  WELL 

The  well  was  drilled  by  Col.  Drake  on  Oil  Creek,  Pennsylvania, 
in  1859.  It  produced  25  barrels  a  day  for  one  year,  although 
it  was  only  69%  feet  deep.  In  the  foreground  is  Col  Drake, 
the  man  with  the  silk  hat,  talking  to  his  friend,  Peter  Wilson. 
The  photograph  was  taken  by  John  A .  Mather  on  August  17, 1861. 


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they  came  off  in  the  production  of  other  petroleum  products 
they  were  regarded  as  commercially  worthless,  and  many  oil 
companies  burned  vast  quantities  to  get  rid  of  them. 

The  invention  and  development  of  the  internal  com- 
bustion motor  transformed  the  industry.  Petroleum  is  the 
only  source  of  gasoline,  whence  comes  the  power  for  auto- 
mobiles, tractors,  airplanes  and  hundreds  of  other  types  of 
motors  for  innumerable  purposes.  Gasoline  is  a  distinct 
component  of  petroleum  and  naphtha  is  the  name  of  the 
next  most  volatile  grade  of  oil.  Means  are  being  improved 
for  employing  naphtha  and  even  the  heavier  kerosene  in 
internal  combustion  motors.  But  when  we  get  away  from 
petroleum  there  is  no  other  source  of  power  for  these 
engines.  During  the  war,  the  Germans,  with  a  shortage  of 
petroleum,  diligently  sought  substitutes,  but  neither  they 
nor  anyone  else  have  been  successful. 

We  have  reviewed  the  great  uses  of  petroleum  and  its 
products.  Minor  ones  are  numerous,  increasing  from  day 
to  day  as  scientists  give  more  and  more  study  to  the  subject. 
The  time  long  since  has  arrived  when  no  part  of  petroleum 
is  thrown  to  waste.  While  the  demand  for  gasoline  taxes 
heaviest  the  supply,  the  need  of  the  world  for  the  other  prod- 
ucts is  sufficient  to  keep  up  the  maximum  production  of 
gasoline  without  loss  on  the  other  products.  The  progress 
of  the  industry  has  been  so  swift  in  recent  years  that  the 
government  has  stepped  in  with  the  watchword,  "conser- 
vation." 

The  gas  from  petroleum,  whether  from  gas  or  oil  wells,  is 
consumed  in  lighting,  heating  and  cooking.  Gas  oils  are 


23 


used  in  the  production  of  "air  gas,"  oil  gas  and  for  the 
enrichment  of  coal  gas.  Gasoline  is  employed  in  cleaning 
processes. 

The  residuum  from  petroleum  distillation  is  valuable. 
What  it  is  depends  upon  the  crude  petroleum  used,  there 
being  three  distinct  types,  determined  by  the  base.  Some 
petroleums  have  paraffin  as  a  base,  some  have  paraffin  and 
asphalt  mixed,  and  some  have  asphalt.  The  oils  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  Texas  have  a  paraffin  base  while  those  of  Cali- 
fornia and  Mexico  have  an  asphalt  base. 

Paraffin  is  a  wax  and  is  used  in  making  candles  and  wax- 
ing paper,  in  protective  paints,  as  an  adulterant  in  candy 
and  chewing  gum  and  for  many  household  purposes. 

Asphalt  is  employed  in  highway  construction,  the  more 
or  less  pure  asphalt  being  utilized  in  paving  and  the  more 
oily  substance  being  most  useful  as  a  road  oil.  A  large 
amount  is  consumed  in  the  manufacture  of  roofing. 

As  a  final  residuum  a  high  grade  coke  may  be  obtained, 
which  is  used  in  making  carbons  for  electric  batteries  and 
arc  lights. 

Between  the  source  of  petroleum  and  the  consumption  of 
its  products  is  the  petroleum  industry  itself.  The  industry 
is  divided  into  three  great  branches — the  extraction  of  the 
oil  from  the  ground,  the  refining  processes  and  transporta- 
tion. The  three  go  hand  and  hand  together,  having  devel- 
oped simultaneously,  each  supporting  the  other,  during 
sixty  years  of  strenuous  history. 


24 


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7-1?  5 


On  the  heels  of  Drake's  discovery,  there  came  into  being 
what  is  now  familiarly  known  as  an  oil  field — a  landscape 
studded  with  high  tapering  derricks  for  the  suspension  of 
the  drilling  rigs. 

The  wells  are  about  eight  inches  in  diameter  and  the  first 
ones  were  drilled  by  the  percussion  method ;  that  is,  the  drill- 
ing tools  were  suspended  on  a  cable  and  a  walking  beam 
kept  the  tools  pounding  away  through  the  strata. 

The  modern  method  of  drilling  is  the  rotary  system.  The 
debut  of  this  system  was  made  in  Texas  some  fourteen  years 
ago,  and,  because  of  its  speed  and  efficiency,  no  less  than 
20,000  wells  have  been  drilled  with  it.  The  system  simply 
is  a  rigid  stem  of  iron  pipe  rotating  a  fish-tail  drilling  bit, 
very  much  as  a  screw  makes  its  way  into  wood. 

While  in  the  percussion  system  the  tools  have  to  be  re- 
moved from  the  well  to  clean  it,  in  the  rotary  system  the  pul- 
verized strata  are  forced  up  by  a  stream  of  water  reaching  the 
head  of  the  drill.  Sometimes,  when  the  walls  of  the  well  are 
likely  to  cave,  pressure-fed  mud  is  used  in  the  place  of  the 
water.  This  mud  serves  the  double  purpose  of  removing 
the  debris  and  plastering  the  walls  of  the  well.  The  walls 
of  a  well  always  should  be  lined,  and  this  is  properly  done 
with  iron  piping. 

When  a  field  is  discovered,  the  landscape  soon  is  filled 
with  the  tapering  derricks.  If  the  land  is  divided  into  small 
holdings,  as  in  a  town,  or  no  restraints  are  imposed,  wells 
sometimes  are  sunk  as  thick  as  space  will  permit.  There 
are  many  stories  in  oil  districts  of  fabulous  sums  being 


25 


offered  for  small  plots  that  were  regarded  as  sacred,  such 
as  church  lots  and  cemeteries.  In  oil  towns  people  do  not 
hesitate  to  bore  wells  in  their  own  front  yards.  Neverthe- 
less, authorities  agree  that  one  well  to  an  acre  is  as  close  as 
they  should  be.  The  great  trouble  is  that  the  proper  spot 
for  drilling  can  not  be  determined  with  accuracy,  and  the 
hope  of  winning  oil  often  tempts  men  to  ridiculous  efforts. 

The  wells  vary  in  depth  from  a  few  hundred  to  several 
thousand  feet.  What  dramatic  possibilities  there  are  in 
bringing  in  a  gusher,  a  well  that  flows  out  at  the  top,  is  illus- 
trated by  the  famous  "Dos  Bocas"  well  which  was  drilled 
by  a  British  company  in  Northern  Vera  Cruz,  Mexico,  in 
1906. 

The  rotary  drill  had  gone  down  1,800  feet  when  a  heavy 
gas  pressure  developed.  In  a  few  minutes  a  great  stream 
of  oil  flung  the  heavy  drill  out  and  put  the  well  absolutely 
beyond  control.  Fissures  appeared  in  the  ground  some 
distance  from  the  well,  one  opening  at  the  fire  box  and 
starting  a  fire.  It  is  said  that  the  flames  shot  up  to  1,000  feet 
in  height.  For  fifty-eight  days  this  "mad  gusher"  burned 
in  fury,  its  glare  being  visible  from  many  miles  at  sea. 
Millions  of  gallons  of  oil  went  to  waste.  One  of  the  efforts 
to  preserve  the  precious  fluid  was  by  building  up  dirt  banks 
to  hold  it  in  ponds. 

The  same  company  brought  in  another  well  in  Mexico 
which  ranks  as  perhaps  the  largest  in  the  history  of  the 
industry.  This  well,  "Protero  del  Llano,"  had  a  daily  flow 
of  over  125,000  barrels. 


26 


Copyright  liy  Underwood  &  Underwood,  N.  Y. 


OPENING  A  GUSHER  IN  THE  TAMPICO  FIELD 

The  dream  of  the  oil  miner  is  realized  when  a  well  flows  as  a 
gusher.  It  means  the  discovery  of  a  rich  field.  Soon  the  area 
is  covered  with  numerous  wells,  for  the  great  demand  for  petroleum 
products  makes  a  ready  market  for  all  the  crude  oil  that  can 
be  'produced. 


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On  the  other  hand  thousands  of  wells  have  been  drilled 
that  proved  entirely  dry.  This  is  the  cause  of  the  hazard 
in  the  business.  To  drill  a  deep  well  at  the  present  time  will 
cost  from  $50,000  to  $100,000.  The  opportunities  for  strik- 
ing shallow  deposits  yearly  become  more  rare. 

Sometimes  wells  produce  only  gas,  and  frequently  purely 
gas  fields  are  developed.  The  history  of  all  producing  oil 
wells  is  a  diminishing  supply  to  the  point  of  exhaustion,  the 
result  being  that  in  a  developed  field  more  and  more  wells 
are  required  to  keep  up  the  supply. 

Large  oil  companies  have  sought  to  eliminate  as  much  as 
possible  the  element  of  chance  in  drilling  for  oil.  They 
maintain  staffs  of  trained  geologists  and  usually  spend 
money  for  drilling  only  in  proved  fields.  Drilling  in  un- 
proved fields  is  known  as  "wildcatting"  and,  while  great 
quantities  of  oil  have  been  found  through  such  ventures, 
the  work  is  carried  on  largely  by  small  operators. 

Much  of  the  drilling  is  done  on  leased  lands.  The  de- 
posits in  the  Indian  reservation  are  worked  in  this  way.  The 
terms  are  a  royalty  on  the  oil  produced. 

Properly  conducted  oil  companies  have  tanks  built  in 
advance  in  which  to  store  the  flow  from  a  possible  gusher. 
Producing  wells  may  be  sealed  up,  but  someone  else  may 
tap  the  same  reservoir  a  short  distance  away  and  extract 
much  of  its  content.  When  pipe  lines  and  tank  cars  to  con- 
duct the  oil  to  a  refinery  are  not  immediately  available,  big 
iron  tanks  are  built  to  store  it. 


27 


In  studying  the  exhaustion  of  wells,  the  United  States 
Bureau  of  Mines  has  announced  the  conclusion  that  from 
twenty  to  ninety  per  cent  of  the  oil  in  tapped  reservoirs 
remains  absorbed  in  rocks  and  sand.  A  practice  with  oil 
men,  when  a  well  slows  down  to  an  unprofitable  point,  is  to 
"shoot"  the  well  with  explosives.  Vacuum  pumps  and 
compressed  air  are  used  to  increase  the  flow.  Government 
investigation  probably  will  lead  to  still  better  methods  of 
reviving  dead  fields. 

The  early  method  of  refining  petroleum  was  to  distill  frac- 
tionally the  crude  petroleum,  that  is,  the  separation  of  its 
various  components. 

The  compound  petroleum  is  made  up  of  gas  and  liquids 
of  various  boiling  points.  The  principal  liquids,  in  the 
order  of  their  volatility,  are  gasoline,  naphtha,  kerosene,  a 
range  of  lubricating  oils,  fuel  oils  and  road  oils. 

Different  liquids  evaporate  at  different  rates  under  the 
same  conditions.  Heat  speeds  the  evaporation.  Fractional 
distillation  is  to  take  off  the  gasoline  first  and  follow  it  up 
with  the  less  volatile  oils,  the  final  residue  being  asphalt  or 
paraffin. 

Originally  this  distillation  was  accomplished  in  big  metal 
stills  with  fires  underneath.  The  fires  greatly  affected  the 
product,  causing  caking  of  the  material  at  the  bottom  of  the 
still,  so  superheated  steam  was  introduced,  the  steam  carry- 
ing off  the  vapors  as  soon  as  they  are  freed. 

The  whole  refining  industry  was  revolutionized  by  the 
introduction  of  the  cracking  process.  This  process  was  dis- 


28 


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covered  by  the  observation  that  many  distillates  were  not 
the  same  as  appeared  in  the  original  composition.  The  frac- 
tional distillation  had  caused  a  certain  chemical  as  well  as 
a  physical  decomposition.  Through  the  accidental  over- 
heating of  a  still,  it  was  found  that  distinct  heavy  oils  were 
broken  up  into  lighter  oils.  Since  the  desire  of  the  refiner 
was  to  secure  as  much  gasoline  and  lighter  oils  as  possible, 
because  of  their  higher  value,  the  cracking  process  imme- 
diately was  developed.  Its  possibilities  are  by  no  means  yet 
exhausted. 

The  principle  of  cracking  is  to  distill  the  oil  in  a  heat 
greater  than  its  boiling  point.  A  simple  application  is  to 
have  the  top  part  of  a  still  relatively  cool.  As  the  vapors 
rise  they  strike  the  cool  area,  condense  and  drop  back  into 
a  heat  that  is  higher  than  their  boiling  point,  and  are  cracked 
into  smaller  units. 

There  are  a  number  of  methods  for  applying  the  crack- 
ing process.  One,  owned  by  The  Standard  Oil  Company, 
is  known  as  the  Burton  process.  Another  is  called  the 
Rittman  process.  Their  details  vary,  but  with  none  of  them 
is  the  refining  of  petroleum  products  completed.  Gasoline 
and  kerosene  especially  need  further  treatment. 

This  is  done  by  successive  treatment  with  sulphuric  acid 
and  caustic  soda,  followed  by  washing  with  water.  The 
acid  and  the  soda  eliminate  the  suspended  hydrocarbons, 
the  fats,  acids,  tarry  bodies  and  other  impurities,  the  sul- 
phuric acid  removing  some  and  the  caustic  soda  taking  the 
remainder  along  with  whatever  sulphuric  acid  has  been  left 
in  the  oil.  Lubricating  oils  also  are  similarly  treated  for 


29 


adaptation  to  the  wide  variety  of  their  usage.    The  oils  used 
in  medicines  are  products  of  still  more  delicate  refining. 

In  the  treatment  of  paraffin  oils,  there  are  methods  of 
cooling  and  solidifying  the  paraffin  and  removing  it  as  a 
wax. 

An  old  source  of  waste  that  has  been  corrected  was  the  gas 
that  comes  off  as  the  first  product  of  distillation.  This  gas 
is  treated  to  take  from  it  its  gasoline  content,  a  process  that 
is  described  under  "Casinghead  Gasoline."  The  gas  is  then 
employed  for  heating  and  lighting. 

The  third  vital  phase  of  the  petroleum  industry  is  trans- 
portation. It  has  had  a  bearing  of  no  less  importance  than 
refining. 

With  the  first  development  of  the  wells  in  Upper  Burma, 
they  followed  the  crude  method  of  carrying  the  oil  from  the 
wells  to  the  river  in  earthen  vessels  and  pouring  it  into  the 
holds  of  ships.  The  Russians  early  conceived  the  idea  of 
pipe  lines  and  built  a  famous  aqueduct  of  bamboo,  but  the 
wastage  from  leaks  soon  proved  it  useless.  The  Asiatics 
resorted  to  simple  man-drawn  carts  on  which  they  would 
load  oil  in  earthen  vessels. 

Transportation  of  oil  in  America  passed  through  the 
stages  of  barrels  on  horse-drawn  vehicles  and  the  use  of 
wooden  containers  on  river  barges.  The  lack  of  adequate 
roads  greatly  handicapped  the  horse-drawn  wagons  and  the 
barges  depended  on  freshets  to  swell  the  streams.  Floating 
barrels  of  oil  down  creeks  even  was  resorted  to  in  the  early 
days  of  the  Pennsylvania  field. 


30 


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The  first  attempt  at  pipe  lines  in  America  met  with  the 
fate  of  the  Russian  experiment.  Even  though  the  pipes  here 
were  of  iron,  they  leaked  at  the  joints.  The  adoption  of 
carefully  welded  joints  solved  this  problem  and  now  there 
are  more  than  25,000  miles  of  oil  pipe  lines  in  the  United 
States.  In  Mexico,  at  certain  points  where  the  water  is  too 
shallow  for  the  oil  steamers  to  come  to  the  shore,  the  pipes 
extend  for  a  mile  and  a  half  out  at  sea,  where  the  ships  are 
loaded.  The  larger  part  of  the  crude  petroleum  produced 
in  the  United  States  goes  to  the  refinery  through  pipe  lines. 
The  lack  of  pipe  lines  to  wells  and  the  transportation  of  the 
products  of  the  refinery  present  another  phase  of  the  situa- 
tion, the  part  of  the  tank  car.  i 

The  idea  of  the  tank  car  was  made  to  serve  during  the  first 
decade  of  the  industry  with  wooden  tanks  on  trucks.  The 
first  modern  type  of  tank  car  was  constructed  in  1871,  it 
being  a  horizontal  cylinder  tank  of  boiler  plate. 

No  single  invention  has  played  a  greater  part  in  the  oil 
industry.  The  tank  car  provides  transportation  for  the  oil 
from  the  very  mouths  of  the  wells  when  pipe  lines  have  not 
been  built.  For  the  distribution  of  petroleum  products  it 
can  not  be  replaced.  The  products  must  be  distributed  as 
far  and  wide  as  men  live  and  work.  The  oil  steamers  that 
ply  between  the  ports  of  the  world  embody  certain  of  its 
cardinal  principles.  The  motor  and  horse-drawn  tanks  that 
travel  the  country  roads  with  gasoline  and  kerosene  and 
other  oils  are  miniature  tank  cars. 

The  distinction  of  Standard  railroad  tank  cars  is  in  the 
strength  and  refinements  enabling  them  to  carry  any  and 


31 


all  petroleum  products  with  safety  and  economy.  At  big 
plants  oil  racks  are  provided  to  load  whole  trains  of  tank 
cars  at  one  time.  Only  the  speed  of  railroad  engines  limits 
the  dispatch  with  which  tank  cars  perform  their  mission. 

The  final  thought  on  petroleum  is  its  occurrence.  While 
the  oil  is  of  common  occurrence  in  small  traces,  its  discovery 
in  commercial  quantities  is  restricted  and  fields  of  great 
importance  are  few. 

There  has  been  a  world-wide  search  for  new  fields,  but 
the  supply  comes  largely  from  three  countries — the  United 
States,  Russia  and  Mexico.  For  ten  years  prior  to  1870,  the 
one  great  oil  production  section  of  the  world  was  Penn- 
sylvania. New  fields  have  been  discovered  and  developed 
in  the  United  States  until  Pennsylvania  now  greatly  is  out- 
ranked by  several  States.  The  fields  in  Russia  and  Mexico 
were  developed  to  supply  a  rapidly  increasing  world 
demand. 

Russia  came  into  prominence  as  a  petroleum  producer 
with  the  completion  of  the  first  flowing  well  in  the  Baku 
district,  around  the  Caspian  Sea.  New  fields  have  been 
developed  in  that  country  in  the  Caucasus  Mountains  and 
along  the  northeast  coast  of  the  Black  Sea.  There  is  great 
promise  of  future  wealth  in  the  Russian  fields.  While  up 
until  recent  months  Russia  stood  second  to  the  United 
States  as  a  producing  country,  it  now  is  claimed  that  Mexico 
has  outstripped  her. 

The  great  Mexican  fields  are  around  the  eastern  coast, 
near  Tampico.  These  are  controlled  by  American  and 


32 


British  companies,  it  being  estimated  that  Americans  have 
invested  $300,000,000  in  Mexican  oil.  Revolutions  and 
unstable  governments  have  had  a  retarding  effect  on  the 
industries  in  both  Mexico  and  Russia. 

In  1917  the  United  States  produced  66.98  per  cent  of  the 
world's  supply,  or  335,315,601  barrels.  Its  proportion  is 
considerably  greater  today,  though  later  figures  on  the  for- 
eign countries  are  not  available  at  this  time.  The  following 
table  gives  the  number  of  barrels  produced  by  the  foreign 
countries  during  1917: 

Russia 69,000,000 

Mexico 55,292,770 

Dutch  East  Indies 12,928,955 

India 8,500,000 

Galicia 5,965,447 

Japan  and  Formosa 2,898,654 

Rumania 2,681,870 

Peru 2,533,417 

Trinidad 1,599,455 

Argentine 1,144,737 

Egypt 1,008,750 

Germany 995,764 

Canada 205,332 

Italy 50,334 

Other  countries 530,000 


Total  of  the  world 500,651,086 

In  many  of  these  countries  the  fields  have  not  been  devel- 
oped to  anything  like  their  capacity,  and  oil  men  in  America, 


33 


appreciating  the  increasing  demands  for  petroleum  prod- 
ucts and  the  drain  on  the  supply  in  this  country,  point  to 
these  foreign  countries  as  opportunities  for  the  future, 
especially  to  Mexico,  South  America,  Russia  and  Africa. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  number  of  barrels  produced 
in  the  United  States  by  States  during  1918,  as  follows: 

California 97,531,997 

Colorado 243,286 

Illinois 13,355,974 

Indiana 877,558 

Kansas 45,451,017 

Kentucky 4,367,968 

Louisiana  2,738,201 

Montana 69,323 

New  York 808,843 

Ohio 7,285,005 

Oklahoma 103,347,070 

Pennsylvania 7,407,812 

Tennessee 8,374 

Texas 38,750,031 

West  Virginia 7,866,628 

Wyoming .  12,596,287 

Others  not  enumerated  produced  a  total  of  7,943  barrels, 
bringing  the  total  for  the  whole  United  States  up  to 
355,927,716.  The  producing  areas  are  classified  as  the 
Appalachian  fields,  the  Lima-Indiana  field,  Illinois  field, 
Mid-Continent  field,  Gulf  field,  Rocky  Mountain  field  and 
the  California  field. 

34 


The  Mid-Continent  field  has  since  the  beginning  of  1919 
exceeded  all  others  in  production.  During  the  month  of 
June,  18,134,000  barrels  were  secured  there  against  a  total 
production  for  the  United  States  of  31,239,000  barrels. 
Central  and  Northern  Texas  alone  during  this  period  pro- 
duced 5,630,000  barrels,  or  an  increase  of  more  than  400 
per  cent  over  June,  1918.  The  result  has  been  that  the  eyes 
of  the  oil  world  have  been  turned  more  towards  Texas  than 
to  any  other  place  on  the  globe. 


35 


CHAPTER     II 


Casinghead  Gasoline 


The  Effect  of  the  Automobile  on  the  Production 

of  Gasoline 

E  have  included  references  to  gasoline,  as  one  of  the 
liquids  with  which  tank  cars  serve  the  nation, 
among  the  several  products  of  petroleum.  It  is 
exclusively  a  petroleum  product,  but  it  is  derived  from  both 
liquid  petroleum  and  petroleum  gas.  The  product  of  the 
latter  is  distinguished  as  casinghead  gasoline.  Its  extrac- 
tion is  sufficiently  distinct  in  method,  and  its  history  and 
development  throw  such  light  on  the  supply  and  demand 
of  gasoline,  as  to  make  it  a  distinct  subject. 

The  average  automobile  owner  probably  assumes  that 
all  gasoline  comes  from  the  crude  liquid  petroleum.  If  his 
assumption  were  true,  there  would  be  fewer  automobile 
owners,  for  the  price  of  gasoline  would  become  prohibitive. 
The  production  of  casinghead  gasoline  in  1917  was 
250,000,000  gallons  and  there  was  a  big  increase  in  the 
amount  in  1918.  The  annual  value  of  the  product  almost 
equals  that  of  the  natural  gas  industry,  and  it  is  growing 
rapidly  as  new  petroleum  fields  are  being  developed. 

The  source  of  the  petroleum  gas  is  the  oil  well.  When  gas 
but  no  oil  is  secured,  it  is  called  natural  gas.  When  both 

36 


oil  and  gas  flow,  the  gas  is  designated  as  casinghead  gas. 
Casinghead  gasoline  is  derived  from  both  sorts  of  wells,  the 
name  being  taken  from  the  casinghead  at  the  top  of  the  cas- 
ing of  the  well. 

Gas  flows  from  all  oil  wells,  but  in  varying  quantities, 
from  a  few  cubic  feet  to  several  hundred  thousand  a  day. 

Neither  is  its  quality  constant.  Sometimes  the  natural 
gas,  known  as  "lean  gas,"  carries  as  low  a  percentage  of 
gasoline  as  one-tenth  of  a  gallon  per  thousand  cubic  feet  of 
gas,  while  the  casinghead  gas  may  be  as  rich  as  several 
gallons  per  thousand  cubic  feet.  An  aid  is  given  the  indus- 
try by  the  fact  that  both  casinghead  and  natural  gas  still 
may  be  used  for  light  and  heat  after  the  gasoline  has  been 
extracted.  Some  gas  men  maintain  that  the  extraction  of 
the  gasoline  makes  the  gas  a  better  commercial  product. 

The  making  of  casinghead  gasoline  as  an  industry  was 
developed  as  late  as  1903.  It  is  not  strange  that  so  impor- 
tant a  raw  material  was  allowed  to  go  to  waste  for  so  long 
when  it  is  remembered  that  gasoline  for  years  was  a  rela- 
tively valueless  by-product  of  the  petroleum  industry.  The 
internal  combustion  motor  called  gasoline  into  use,  and  the 
tremendous  increase  in  automobiles,  with  the  subsequent 
increased  demand  for  gasoline,  caused  the  casinghead  gaso- 
line industry  to  grow  to  importance. 

It  simply  was  a  result  of  the  law  of  supply  and  demand. 
In  the  last  eight  years  the  production  of  gasoline  has  in- 
creased more  rapidly  than  that  of  petroleum  itself.  In  1910 
there  were  50,000,000  barrels  of  petroleum  produced  and 
10,000,000  barrels  of  gasoline.  In  1917  the  output  was 


37 


280,000,000  barrels  of  petroleum  and  65,000,000  of  gaso- 
line. Thus  it  is  evident  that  the  old  proportion  of  one 
barrel  of  gasoline  to  five  of  petroleum  has  been  reduced. 

There  are  two  methods  employed  in  the  preparation  of 
casinghead  gasoline,  the  compression  process  and  the 
absorption  process.  There  are  no  restrictions  on  the  size 
of  the  plants  and  they  are  of  many  types.  Plants  of  any 
proportions,  however,  are  located  within  a  radius  of  a  num- 
ber of  wells,  with  which  they  have  gas  pipe  connections. 
The  gas  is  purchased  by  the  cubic  foot,  the  price  usually 
being  regulated  by  the  price  of  gasoline.  Whether  a  plant 
uses  the  compression  or  the  absorption  system,  it  always  is 
equipped  with  a  vacuum  pump;  for  it  is  a  simple  law  of 
physics  that  a  reduction  of  air  pressure  in  the  wells  will 
cause  a  greater  flow  of  gas,  and  of  oil  too. 

The  compression  system  consists  in  passing  the  gas,  under 
pressure  of  from  one  hundred  to  three  hundred  pounds, 
through  a  series  of  coils,  on  which  cold  water  is  constantly 
dripping.  The  gasoline  condenses  and  the  gas  passes  on 
out,  to  be  consumed  for  heating  and  lighting  purposes.  The 
gasoline  is  collected  in  tanks  and  then  is  blended  with  less 
volatile  naphtha.  The  blending  lowers  its  specific  gravity 
and  makes  it  satisfactory  for  use  in  motors. 

In  final  form  it  is  a  high  grade  gasoline,  the  process 
enabling  the  oil  man  to  sell  naphtha  for  use  in  motors,  which 
he  could  not  do  with  this  liquid  in  a  free  state.  Casinghead 
gasoline  is  the  most  satisfactory  grade  for  airplane  motors. 

The  higher  the  pressure  in  this  system  the  greater  the  pro- 
portion of  gasoline  condensed.  But  the  gasoline  obtained 

38 


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31 


from  the  extra  pressure  immediately  evaporates  on  contact 
with  the  air,  and,  therefore,  it  is  unwise  commercially  to  try 
to  obtain  too  great  a  proportion. 

In  the  absorption  method,  the  gas  is  brought  into  con- 
tact with  petroleum  oils  heavier  than  gasoline.  They  use 
horizontal  cylinders,  by  which  the  gas  is  sprayed  into  the 
oil ;  or  vertical  cylinders,  by  which  the  gas  is  sent  in  at  the 
bottom  and  the  oil  sprayed  in  from  the  top.  The  oil  absorbs 
the  gasoline,  and  then  it  is  distilled  on  the  same  plan  as  petro- 
leum. This  method  is  used  almost  exclusively  in  treating 
natural  gas.  The  gasoline  maker  is  able  to  use  the  oil  over 
and  over  again. 

The  first  casinghead  gasoline  was  obtained  by  placing 
coils  in  gas  pipe  lines.  It  had  been  observed  that  gasoline 
condensed  in  gas  pipes,  where  they  ran  through  low  and 
cool  places.  The  amount  now  secured  from  this  source 
is  not  insignificant.  It  is  estimated  that  the  value  of 
casinghead  gasoline  in  1918  amounted  to  approximately 
$60,000,000. 

Any  gasoline  must  be  kept  under  pressure  and  at  a  rela- 
tively low  temperature,  for  heat  increases  the  pressure  tre- 
mendously. Standard  Tank  Cars  which  carry  it  are  built 
of  extra  heavy  steel,  able  to  withstand  a  pressure  of  at  least 
125  pounds,  in  order  to  conform  with  the  law.  They  are 
covered  with  a  two-inch  magnesia  composition  and  a  one- 
eighth-inch  steel  covering  over  that.  Safety  valves,  set  at 
twenty-five  pounds  per  square  inch,  also  are  provided. 
Another  feature  which  may  be  provided  is  a  special  dome 
preventing  inexperienced  persons  from  opening  the  car. 


39 


CHAPTER     III 


Coal -Tar 


Development  of  the  Manufacture  of  Dyestuffs, 
Refined  Drugs  and  Chemicals 

OAL-TAR  is  a  charmed  word  in  industry.  It  caught 
popular  interest  through  the  fact  that  from  this 
cheap  and  plentiful  material  ways  were  found  to 
manufacture  refined  products  that  have  marked  a  new  era 
in  many  industries.  Coal-tar  dyestuffs  alone  affect  every 
civilized  being. 

While  America  for  a  long  time  has  manufactured  its  own 
considerable  supply  of  heavy  oils  and  pitch  from  coal-tar, 
it  took  the  Great  War  to  awaken  interest  in  the  manufacture 
of  the  dyestuffs,  refined  drugs  and  chemicals  for  use  in  explo- 
sives and  for  various  other  purposes.  The  raw  materials 
were  here  but  capital  was  timid  in  investing  in  the  plants 
and  machinery  necessary  to  compete  with  Germany  in  these 
products.  Germany  had  developed  a  world  trade  in  chemi- 
cal dyes  and  coal-tar  drugs  and  chemicals.  The  Teutons 
virtually  had  a  monopoly  until  the  blockade  during  the  war 
compelled  our  manufacturers  to  overcome  the- difficulties  in 
their  way.  The  coal-tar  products  industries  in  America 
now  are  rapidly  attaining  a  position  of  independence. 


40 


Coal-tar  products  really  are  coal  products.  The  discovery 
of  these  valuable  components  of  coal  has  had  a  great  effect 
in  pointing  the  way  to  secure  numerous  petroleum  products. 

Coal-tar  is  a  by-product  in  the  manufacture  of  coke. 
Another  source  of  its  most  valuable  component,  benzol,  is 
to  strip  it  from  coal  gas.  Millions  of  tons  of  coal  are  used 
every  year  in  the  United  States  for  coke  and  gas  manufac- 
ture. Steel  mills  require  great  quantities  of  coke  and  every 
city  resident  knows  of  the  needs  for  gas  for  heating  and 
lighting.  These  industries  make  possible  almost  unlimited 
supplies  of  coal-tar  and  benzol.  Only  the  demands  of  the 
market  limit  them.  The  maximum  supplies  are  not  pro- 
duced because  frequently  it  is  simpler  and  cheaper  to  use 
the  old  beehive  coke  ovens  instead  of  the  modern  by-product 
ovens,  and  because  stripping  benzol  from  gas  reduces  the 
illuminating  power  of  gas.  Increased  efficiency  undoubt- 
edly soon  will  stop  this  wastage,  for  the  usefulness  of  coal-tar 
products  grow  as  each  year  passes. 

Coal-tar,  a  black,  viscous  and  sometimes  semisolid  fluid, 
is  worth  its  weight  in  coal  as  fuel.  It  is  unpopular  in  this 
use  because  of  an  evil  smelling  smoke  it  produces.  Where 
appearance  does  not  count,  it  is  employed  as  a  cheap  paint 
to  preserve  wood  and  metal. 

The  materials  for  the  numerous  valuable  coal-tar  products 
are  secured  through  the  fractional  distillation  of  benzol  and 
coal-tar.  As  benzol  is  one  of  the  distillates  of  coal-tar,  it  is 
not  necessary  to  treat  it  as  a  separate  subject.  The  distillates 
of  coal-tar  divide  into  four  natural  classes — light  oils,  middle 


41 


oils,  heavy  oils  and  pitch.   The  commercial  products  of  these 
distinct  classes  and  their  uses  are  as  follows : 

From  light  oils — benzol  and  solvent  naphtha,  for  solvents, 
paint  thinners,  motor  fuel  and  gas  enrichment ;  nitrotoluenes, 
diphenylamine  and  other  ingredients  of  explosives;  aniline 
dyes;  hydroquinone  and  other  photographic  developers; 
drugs  and  medicines. 

From  middle  oils — disinfectants ;  picric  acid,  picrates  and 
other  nitrocompounds  for  explosives;  naphthol  dyes  and 
colors;  artificial  indigo  and  refined  carbolic  acid. 

From  middle  and  heavy  oils — creosote,  for  preserving 
wood  products,  such  as  railroad  ties,  paving  blocks  and  pil- 
ing and  structural  timbers;  lamp  black,  for  electric  carbons, 
printing  inks,  shoe-blacking  and  patent  leather. 

From  heavy  oils — road  oils ;  alizarin  dyes. 

From  heavy  oils  and  pitch — roofing  tars;  paving  tars. 

'From  pitch — protective  paint  and  for  briquetting  fuel. 

Tt  is  obvious  that  many  coal-tar  products  have  a  commer- 
cial usefulness  in  a  crude  state.  The  more  refined  products, 
however,  require  complicated  chemical  processes  in  their 
preparation.  Germany's  aggressiveness  in  this  particular 
gave  that  country  dominance  in  the  field  and  for  years 
caused  the  United  States  to  import  its  principal  supplies. 

The  use  of  coal-tar  products  in  explosives  is  a  study  within 
itself.  These  products — principally  benzol,  toluol  and  naph- 
tholene — are  indispensable  to  many  modern  explosives. 

A  growing  demand  for  certain  of  the  products  is  in  the 
moving  picture  industry.  This  industry  employs  the  pho- 


42 


tographic  developers  and  a  form  of  celluloid,  made  by  con- 
densing carbolic  acid  with  formaldehyde. 

Before  the  celluloid  film  was  applied,  moving  pictures 
were  little  more  than  a  theory.  Thomas  A.  Edison  had  con- 
ceived the  theory  of  the  motion  picture  machine  but  no  film 
could  be  found  that  would  serve  it.  Glass,  it  was  obvious, 
would  not  do  and  paper  and  various  other  materials  were 
tried  without  success.  It  was  due  to  the  tireless  research  of 
Mr.  Eastman,  of  the  Eastman  Kodak  Company,  that,  some 
thirty  years  ago,  celluloid  was  introduced  in  the  roll  film. 
Mr.  Eastman's  success  not  only  revolutionized  photography 
but  gave  Mr.  Edison  the  missing  link  for  which  he  was 
searching.  Mr.  Edison  then  gave  us  moving  pictures. 

Among  the  many  drugs  secured  from  coal-tar  products 
are  phenacetin,  saccharin  and  aspirin.  It  may  easily  be 
imagined  how  difficult  it  would  be  to  transport  coal-tar  in 
quantities  without  tank  cars.  The  tanks  must  have  at  least 
six  lines  of  steam  coils  that  the  tar  may  be  heated  for  unload- 
ing. After  coal-tar  has  been  shipped  in  a  tank  car,  it  is  im- 
practical to  use  the  car  for  refined  oils,  because  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  clean  all  the  coal-tar  out. 

Commercially  pure  benzol  freezes  easily,  and,  therefore, 
if  shipped  in  a  pure  state,  the  tank  car  should  be  coiled.  At 
any  rate  the  tanks  should  be  thoroughly  clean  and  equipped 
with  sealing  devices.  A  precaution  against  evaporation  is 
to  cover  the  interior  with  a  white  paint. 

Other  coal-tar  products  handled  in  tank  cars  are  naphtha, 
toluol,  carbolic  acid,  creosote  and  the  heavy  oils. 


43 


CHAPTER     IV 


Turpentine  and  Rosin 


Their  Production  as  the  First  American  Industry; 

How  the  Pine  Forests  are  Tapped  for  these 

Products  and  their  Wide  Usage 

HERE  is  all  the  charm  of  Mother  Nature's  house- 
hold in  the  naval  stores  industry.  Naval  stores 
have  the  dignity  of  being  America's  first  export, 
for  it  is  believed  that  the  first  products  sent  back  to  England 
by  the  struggling  Jamestown  colony  were  tar  and  pitch  for 
calking  the  ships  and  smearing  the  rigging  of  the  King's 
Navy.  The  sailors,  therefore,  usually  had  their  hands  cov- 
ered with  tar,  and  with  it  they  used  it  to  slick  their  tightly 
plaited  hair,  probably  gaining  from  its  odor  the  nickname 
of  "Jack  Tar." 

The  fine  history  of  naval  stores,  however,  is  a  record  rather 
than  an  indication  of  the  commercial  and  industrial  impor- 
tance of  the  products  today.  Included  in  them  are  turpen- 
tine, rosin,  tar  and  pitch.  The  latter  two  still  are  in  demand 
for  ships.  Manufacturers  of  cordage  require  a  great  supply 
of  pitch  as  a  preservative  for  ropes  and  in  the  preparation  of 
oakum  for  calking  ships,  but  the  use  of  the  products  as  a 


44 


<a  x, 
S-« 
VS&-, 

b 


.=  •2  8 


whole  for  naval  stores  is  a  minor  one.  Modern  chemistry 
has  developed  so  many  purposes  for  turpentine  and  rosin 
that  they  have  become  prime  essentials  in  innumerable 
industries. 

Turpentine  and  rosin  are  products  of  the  distillation  of 
the  crude  resin  of  the  long  leaf  pines  of  the  South.  Tar  is 
secured  by  the  destructive  distillation  of  pine  wood,  and 
pitch  is  then  produced  by  boiling  the  tar.  These  raw  mate- 
rials are  still  obtained  in  much  the  same  way  as  was  done  by 
the  early  colonists.  The  distilleries  are  even  more  pictur- 
esque today,  since  darkies  do  the  work,  deep  down  in  the 
regions  of  the  yellow  pine  forests.  After  tar  and  pitch,  tur- 
pentine was  discovered,  and  rosin  was  a  waste  by-product 
which  was  dumped  into  streams  or  buried  in  pits.  In  later 
years,  when  the  value  of  rosin  was  discovered,  these  pits 
became  known  as  "rosin  mines,"  and  small  fortunes  were 
made  by  locating  them  and  marketing  their  contents. 

The  first  method  of  gathering  the  crude  resin  was  to  cut 
a  cuplike  cavity  in  the  trunk  of  the  tree  near  its  base  and 
then  scarify  the  trunk  for  some  distance  above  the  cavity. 
From  early  spring  until  fall,  the  resin,  or  sap  of  the  tree, 
exuded  and  was  collected  in  the  cup.  This  was  known  as 
the  "box  system"  and  it  was  wasteful,  both  in  handling  the 
resin  and  in  injuring  the  trees. 

The  present  method  substitutes  a  metal  or  pottery  cup 
beneath  the  scarified  surface  of  the  trees,  and  economizes 
both  wastage  and  the  life  of  the  tree.  Trees  now  are 
"farmed"  three  or  four  seasons. 


45 


Skillful  hands  collect  the  resin,  and  it  is  taken  in  barrels 
to  a  nearby  distillery.  The  still  is  composed  of  a  big  copper 
retort,  of  from  twenty  to  thirty  barrels  capacity,  with  a 
goose-neck  cap  and  worm  similar  to  a  whiskey  still.  The 
worm  passes  through  a  tank  filled  with  cold  water,  and 
empties  into  a  receptacle  for  the  distilled  spirit.  To  the  gum 
in  the  retort  is  added  water.  When  fire  in  the  furnace  under- 
neath has  produced  a  temperature  of  about  300  degrees  F., 
the  process  of  distillation  begins. 

Turpentine  is  the  distilled  product,  and,  being  lighter,  it 
separates  from  the  water  that  passed  over  with  it  by  rising 
to  the  top.  The  residue  left  in  the  retort  is  rosin,  and  it  is 
drained  out  through  a  tail-gate  and  strained  into  a  market- 
able product. 

When  the  sap  oozes  from  the  trees  it  is  a  colorless  liquid, 
but  exposure  to  the  air  gives  it  an  opaque  cast.  Pure  tur- 
pentine is  a  clear  liquid,  its  market  grade  being  determined 
by  its  degree  of  clearness.  Rosin,  too,  is  similarly  graded,  its 
color  ranging  from  black  to  pale  lemon  yellow. 

The  greater  part  of  both  products  is  handled  in  barrels, 
but  on  large  scale  production  it  is  stored  in  steel  tanks,  and 
then  transferred  to  tank  cars,  to  be  shipped  to  the  markets 
of  the  world. 

As  a  volatile  thinner  for  paints,  and  to  accelerate  the  oxi- 
dation of  drying  oils,  turpentine  never  has  been  equalled  by 
any  substitute.  In  the  manufacture  of  paint  in  America 
there  is  an  investment  of  something  like  a  billion  dollars,  and 
work  that  gives  employment  to  approximately  100,000  men. 


46 


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Other  industries  in  which  it  plays  a  necessary  part  are  as 
follows : 

The  manufacture  of  printing  inks,  and  in  lithography ;  the 
manufacture  of  patent  leathers;  as  a  solvent  for  waxes  in 
shoe  and  leather  polishes,  and  in  floor  varnishes  and  furni- 
ture polishes ;  as  a  solvent  for  waterproofing,  for  rubber  and 
similar  substances;  in  refining  petroleum  illuminating  oils; 
as  an  ingredient  in  belting  greases;  as  an  insecticide;  in 
laundry  glosses,  washing  preparations,  stove  polishes  and 
sealing  wax ;  a  raw  material  in  synthetic  camphor  and,  indi- 
rectly, celluloid,  explosives,  fireworks  and  many  medicines ; 
in  the  manufacture  of  disinfectants,  liniments,  poultices, 
medicated  soaps,  ointments  and  internal  remedies;  in  pro- 
ducing terpineol,  and  last,  but  not  least,  as  an  indispensable 
article  in  the  family  medicine  chest. 

The  greatest  use  of  rosin  is  in  the  manufacture  of  soap 
and  in  surfacing  writing  and  printing  paper.  Other  uses 
are  in  the  manufacture  of  varnishes  and  paint  driers,  in 
waterproofing  compounds,  in  roofing  materials,  in  leather 
dressings  and  shoe  polishes,  in  sealing  wax  and  shoemakers' 
wax,  in  the  making  of  linoleum  and  oil  cloth,  in  dry  batter- 
ies and  electrical  insulations,  as  a  lubricant  for  high  speed 
machinery,  in  steel  hardening,  floor  waxes  and  polishes,  in 
disinfectant  sweeping  materials,  in  cements,  in  printing  inks, 
in  rubber  substitutes,  axle  grease,  to  dust  molds  in  foundries, 
in  many  pharmaceutical  preparations,  and  for  innumerable 
minor  purposes. 

Turpentine  requires  a  clean  tank  car.  Some  shippers  paint 
the  inside  of  the  cars  with  white  enamel  to  show  off  the  qual- 


47 


ity  of  the  spirits,  but  most  of  them  merely  shellac  the  interior 
to  prevent  the  metal  from  discoloring  the  turpentine. 

For  rosin  a  standard  car  without  coils  is  used. 

For  pitch  a  coiled  car  must  be  used  in  order  to  melt  it 
with  steam  before  unloading  it.  After  once  having  been 
used  for  pitch,  the  cars  are  unfit  for  anything  else  but  crude 
and  fuel  oils,  as  they  are  very  difficult  to  clean. 


48 


CHAPTER    V 


Alcohol 


Ethyl  and  Methyl 

WO  kinds  of  alcohol  play  a  big  part  in  industry 
today — ethyl  alcohol,  or  the  spirit  of  fermented 
liquors,  and  methyl  alcohol,  or  wood  alcohol. 
While  the  former  is  much  more  useful,  efforts  of  govern- 
ments to  circumscribe  its  use  for  beverages  for  a  long  time 
greatly  retarded  its  commercial  development  and  caused 
methyl  alcohol  frequently  to  be  substituted  for  it.  The  great- 
est restriction  on  its  production  was  a  heavy  tax;  but  this 
tax  on  denatured  alcohol  was  removed  on  January  1,  1907, 
by  an  act  of  the  United  States  Congress,  and  now  even  unde- 
natured  alcohol  pays  no  excise  duty,  when  it  is  to  be  used, 
under  license,  in  medicine  and  drugs  and  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  explosives. 

Denatured  ethyl  alcohol  generally  is  known  as  industrial 
alcohol.  It  is  a  light  colorless  liquid,  secured  from  vege- 
table sources.  The  process  of  manufacture  is  its  conversion, 
through  fermentation  and  distillation,  from  starchy  and 
saccharin  matter,  the  product  being  separated,  concentrated 
and  rectified. 

49 


There  is  a  wide  range  of  materials  from  which  alcohol 
may  be  obtained;  namely,  corn,  rye,  barley,  rice,  sugar  beets, 
both  white  and  sweet  potatoes,  and  sugar-cane  molasses.  The 
main  sources  for  production  on  a  commercial  scale,  how- 
ever, are  corn  and  sugar-cane  molasses.  Alcohol  may  be 
made  from  sugar  beets,  but  the  beet  molasses  is  more  suit- 
able as  an  ingredient  of  cattle  feed. 

The  first  step  in  its  manufacture  is  to  clean  the  material 
of  all  dirt,  stone,  trash,  et  cetera.  Then  a  mash  is  made,  and 
after  the  first  stages  of  fermentation  have  been  reached,  cul- 
tured yeast  cells  are  put  in.  The  chemical  action  is  that  the 
starch  and  saccharin  matter  are  turned  to  sugar,  and  the 
yeast  attacks  the  sugar,  splitting  it  into  alcohol  and  carbon 
dioxide. 

The  fermentation  virtually  is  the  same  as  that  which  takes 
place  in  the  making  of  wine,  except  that  cultured  yeast  cells 
are  added,  while  the  must  of  grapes  supply  their  own,  and 
the  making  of  alcohol  is  not  nearly  so  delicate  a  matter  as 
the  fermenting  of  a  wine  that  must  have  a  particular  taste 
and  quality. 

Long  as  fermentation  has  been  employed  by  man,  it  is 
only  in  recent  years  that  its  chemistry  has  been  understood. 

Pasteur  propounded  the  theory  that  "it  was  life  without 
air."  He  considered  that  the  action  of  the  yeast  on  the  sugar 
was  caused  by  its  thirst  for  oxygen.  The  theory  now  accepted 
is  that  there  is  a  substance  in  the  yeast  known  as  enzym, 


50 


which  acts  upon  sugar  like  digestive  juices.  This  has  been 
proved  by  expressing  the  juice  from  the  yeast  cells  and  then 
applying  it  to  sugar,  with  the  result  of  fermentation. 

But  the  analogy  to  wine  ends  with  the  fermentation,  for 
the  alcohol  is  obtained  from  the  mash  by  distillation.  It  is 
purified  and  rectified  by  a  repetition  of  the  process  of  dis- 
tillation. Its  volatility  being  of  a  different  degree  to  that 
of  water,  fusil  oil  and  the  other  elements  with  which  it  is 
mixed,  it  can  easily  be  separated  by  distillation  to  a  state  of 
purity  of  from  ninety  to  ninety-five  per  cent.  If  absolute 
alcohol  is  required,  it  can  be  secured  through  the  use  of 
quicklime,  metallic  sodium  or  other  chemicals,  but  for  gen- 
eral uses  distillation  carries  it  far  enough. 

Its  denaturing  is  accomplished  by  the  addition  of  wood 
alcohol,  benzol  or  such  other  liquid  as  will  destroy  its  char- 
acter as  a  beverage  and  make  it  unfit  for  use  as  a  medicine. 
The  denaturing  liquids  are  usually  poisonous  and  very 
unpleasant  to  the  taste.  Government  regulations  specify 
their  proportions.  The  alcohol  can  again  be  purified  but 
it  is  far  easier  to  make  raw  whiskey  than  to  go  through  the 
process. 

Valuable  as  it  is  in  industry,  ethyl  alcohol  has  many  prop- 
erties that  as  yet  are  but  little  utilized.  Except  for  cheaper 
petroleum  and  coal  products,  it  would  serve  as  an  illuminat- 
ing oil,  as  power  for  motors,  and  for  heating  and  cooking. 
Though  it  is  not  now  a  competitor  of  gasoline,  some  day  it 
may  be. 

Alcohol  is  required  in  quantities  in  the  manufacture  of 
smokeless  powders.  Mercuric  fulminate,  one  of  the  most 


51 


useful  high  explosives  known,  is  formed  by  the  action  of 
mercurous  nitrate  on  alcohol.  This  form  of  explosive  is 
employed  principally  in  cap  composition,  fuses  and  deto- 
nators. 

Alcohol's  greatest  use  in  industry  and  in  the  arts  is  due 
to  its  power  as  a  solvent.  It  readily  dissolves  most  organic 
compounds,  resins,  fatty  acids,  many  metallic  salts  and 
hydrocarbons.  This  property  gives  it  high  value  in  medi- 
cine, particularly  since  in  composition  of  ten  per  cent  and 
more  it  is  an  antiseptic.  Many  liniments  are  largely  alco- 
holic. If  applied  to  the  skin,  alcohol  evaporates  rapidly, 
having  a  cooling  effect  that  reduces  fever,  expands  the  blood 
vessels  and  produces  a  mild  counter-irritant.  It  also  has 
an  effect  on  the  secretion  of  the  juices  in  the  stomach  which 
tends  to  relieve  pain. 

Alcohol,  of  course,  is  the  intoxicating  quantity  in  beers, 
wines  and  liquors. 

It  is  important  in  the  manufacture  of  varnishes  and  lac- 
quers. Shellac  gum  with  alcohol  makes  spirit  varnish.  Other 
uses  are  in  making  of  sulphuric  and  acetic  acid,  ether, 
chloroform,  photographic  films,  both  dry  plates  and  papers ; 
aniline  colors  and  dyes  and  flavoring  extracts. 

Human  suffering  has  been  greatly  alleviated  by  the  uses 
of  ether  and  chloroform  as  anaesthetics.  Ether  also  is 
employed  in  smokeless  powder,  to  manufacture  artificial  silk 
and  for  refrigerating  purposes. 


52 


The  government  has  not  discontinued  its  supervision  of 
alcohol,  and  for  its  shipping  very  tight  tank  cars  with  seal- 
ing devices  are  required. 

Wood  Alcohol 

Wood,  or  methyl,  alcohol  is  secured  through  the  destruc- 
tive distillation  of  wood.  It  is  called  destructive  distilla- 
tion because  the  process  destroys  the  wood,  dividing  it  into 
its  distillates  and  charcoal.  The  favorite  woods  for  mak- 
ing this  product  are  maple,  birch  and  beech,  and  the  dis- 
tilleries are  located  where  such  woods  are  available. 

The  process  is  dry  distillation.  The  wood,  cut  into  uni- 
form blocks,  is  packed  into  steel  cars  and  rolled  into  big 
ovens.  The  distilled  spirit  passes  out  through  the  neck  of 
a  huge  retort  and  charcoal  is  left  in  the  cars.  To  prevent 
the  charcoal  from  bursting  into  flames  when  it  is  removed 
in  a  high  state  of  heat,  it  is  placed  in  compartments  to  which 
air  has  no  access. 

The  product  of  the  first  distillation  contains  many  ele- 
ments and  it  must  be  distilled  again  and  again  to  obtain  any- 
thing like  pure  methyl  alcohol.  In  the  second  distillation, 
wood  naphtha  and  crude  acetic  acid  come  off,  leaving  tar, 
creosote  and  heavy  fuel  oils.  The  tar  and  heavy  fuel  oils 
are  sufficient  to  furnish  heat  for  the  operation  of  the  dis- 
tillery. They  are  burned  by  a  jet  of  steam  which  sprays 
the  heavy  liquid  over  the  furnace,  just  as  the  heavy  oils 
from  petroleum  are  used  for  fuel.  The  distillate  is  now 
neutralized  with  lime  and  again  distilled.  This  time  wood 
naphtha  comes  off  and  leaves  acetate  of  lime.  From  this 


53 


latter  product  chloroform,  acetic  acid  and  acetone  are  made, 
which  have  a  use  in  the  manufacture  of  explosives  and  in 
various  other  industries. 

Heavy  and  tarry  bodies  are  further  removed  from  the 
wood  naphtha  by  distillation,  and  then  it  is  sent  to  a  refinery 
where  it  is  purified  with  lime  and  other  alkalis,  the  final 
product  being  wood  alcohol. 

In  modern  methods  a  cord  of  wood  will  yield  some  twelve 
gallons  of  wood  alcohol. 

Highly  refined  methyl  alcohol  is  hard  to  distinguish  from 
ethyl  alcohol,  except  that  it  is  poisonous  and  very  distasteful. 
Abroad  it  is  the  favorite  denaturing  agent  for  ethyl  alcohol. 
For  many  purposes  it  is  a  good  substitute  for  ethyl  alcohol. 
Its  consumption  also  is  embraced  in  the  manufacture  of 
formaldehyde,  in  aniline  dyes,  and  in  the  preparation  of 
different  varnishes. 


54 


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Sulphuric  Acid 


The  Making  and  Use  of  this  Most  Important  of 
Commercial  Chemicals 

ECAUSE  of  the  quantities  in  which  it  is  produced 
and  the  multifarious  uses  to  which  it  is  put,  sul- 
phuric acid  is  the  most  important  of  all  commer- 
cial chemicals.  In  fact,  it  has  been  said  that  the  degree  of 
a  nation's  industrial  progress  can  be  measured  by  its  con- 
sumption of  sulphuric  acid. 

The  essentials  in  the  production  of  the  acid  are  the  burn- 
ing of  sulphur,  or  sulphur  dioxide,  and  combining  the  sul- 
phur dioxide  thus  formed  with  more  oxygen  and  water.  In 
industry  this  is  accomplished  by  a  number  of  processes; 
sometimes  for  the  direct  production  of  sulphuric  acid  but 
often  as  a  by-product,  as  in  the  smelting  of  sulphur  ores. 

Sulphur  is  found  in  considerable  quantities  in  the  free 
state  as  brimstone,  especially  in  Louisiana.  Brimstone  is 
easily  burned;  once  started  it  will  continue  without  any 
extraneous  help.  It  gives  off  fumes  in  the  form  of  sulphur 
dioxide.  These  fumes  are  collected  in  a  dome  over  the  kiln 
and  conducted  by  a  flue  into  chambers  for  further  treatment. 


55 


To  be  converted  into  sulphuric  acid,  the  sulphur  dioxide 
must  have  added  two  parts  of  oxygen  and  two  parts  of 
hydrogen.  Water  will  supply  the  hydrogen  and  one  part 
of  the  oxygen.  To  give  the  needed  part  of  oxygen,  an 
oxide  of  nitrogen  or  some  other  oxygen  carrier  is  intro- 
duced. One  of  the  principal  materials  used  is  vapor  of 
nitric  acid. 

The  reactions  that  follow  are  very  complicated,  though 
it  is  well  understood  how  they  must  be  conducted.  An  im- 
portant feature  is  that  the  chambers  must  be  constructed 
of  sheet  lead,  for  the  acid  would  attack  and  destroy  almost 
any  other  material,  and  they  must  be  of  large  proportions. 
Several  chambers  usually  are  connected,  with  the  fumes  to 
be  treated  sent  in  at  one  end  and  certain  waste  gases  allowed 
to  escape  at  the  other.  The  water  is  introduced  as  steam. 

The  liquid  acid  that  forms  is  good  commercial  sulphuric 
acid. 

Means  have  been  devised  for  conserving  nitric  acid  and 
using  it  over  again. 

There  are  many  variations  in  the  machinery  in  which 
the  fumes  from  the  brimstone  are  converted  into  sulphuric 
acid.  Many  refinements  have  been  invented,  particular 
effort  being  directed  to  reducing  the  lead  chambers.  Never- 
theless, the  principles  of  all  are  virtually  the  same. 

But  a  much  larger  percentage  of  sulphuric  acid  is  pro- 
duced from  pyrites — copper,  iron  and  zinc  sulphides — than 
from  free  brimstone.  As  a  by-product  of  smelting,  sul- 
phuric acid  has  become  both  necessary  and  very  profitable. 

56 


A  copper  smelting  plant  was  established  at  Ducktown, 
Tenn.,  some  years  ago  to  handle  the  product  of  pyrites 
mines  there.  No  attention  was  given  to  the  escaping  sul- 
phur fumes.  Very  soon  there  were  strenuous  protests  from 
the  farmers  about.  The  fumes  were  killing  all  forests, 
crops  and  vegetation  over  a  wide  area. 

The  result  of  the  situation  was  the  passage  of  a  State  law 
requiring  the  fumes  to  be  confined.  The  company  con- 
formed to  the  requirements,  and  now  its  production  of 
sulphuric  acid  is  a  more  important  item  than  that  of  copper. 

The  first  part  of  the  smelting  of  pyrites  ore  consists  in 
roasting  it,  that  is,  the  oxidation  of  the  sulphur  and  iron. 
Started  with  coke,  it  will  continue  through  the  power  of  its 
own  heat.  Sulphur  dioxide  passes  off  in  fumes.  In  large 
plants  a  number  of  kilns  are  arranged  in  a  row  with  an 
arch-shaped  roof  to  conduct  the  fumes  to  a  common  flue. 
The  kilns  or  burners  are  regularly  recharged  with  ore  so 
as  to  give  a  constant  flow  of  the  fumes.  The  fumes  are 
collected  and  conducted  into  chambers  for  the  treatment, 
which  has  been  described,  that  converts  it  into  sulphuric 
acid. 

Pure  sulphuric  acid  is  a  colorless,  odorless  liquid  of  an 
oily  consistency.  It  is  poisonous.  It  will  attack  most  metals 
and  to  be  transported  must  have  tank  cars  of  special  con- 
struction. For  a  weak  solution  the  tanks  must  be  lead  lined 
and  for  strong  solutions  there  are  special  compositions  for  the 
lining.  The  acid  is  unloaded  by  compressed  air  through  a 
pipe  extending  from  the  dome  to  the  bottom  of  the  tank. 


57 


Great  quantities  of  sulphuric  acid  are  used  in  purifying 
most  kinds  of  oils.  It  clears  them  of  all  sorts  of  suspended 
and  extraneous  matter.  Many  vegetable  oils,  such  as  cot- 
ton seed  oil,  are  made  fit  for  food  through  purification  by 
sulphuric  acid.  It  takes  away  the  odor  and  leaves  the  oils 
bright  and  clear.  It  is  used  to  "sweeten"  gasoline  by  per- 
fecting the  work  of  distillation. 

It  cleans  or  "pickles"  iron  in  its  preparation  for  tinning 
or  galvanizing. 

In  the  manufacture  of  artificial  dyes  and  coloring  matter 
from  coal-tar  products,  it  is  employed  as  a  dryer. 

In  fertilizers  it  serves  as  a  solvent  for  phosphate. 

It  is  most  useful  in  the  production  of  nitric  acid,  and 
with  nitric  acid  in  the  forming  of  nitroglycerin  and  nitro- 
cellulose, which  are  in  great  demand  for  explosives. 

Through  its  quality  of  separating  acids  from  their  salts, 
we  have  its  use  in  the  manufacture  of  soda  ash,  soap,  glass 
and  bleaching  powder. 

The  modern  method  of  making  fuming  sulphuric  acid  is 
known  as  the  contact  process.  Sulphur  dioxide  and  air  are 
passed  over  finely  divided  platinum  at  a  suitable  tempera- 
ture, when  they  combine  to  form  sulphur  dioxide.  The 
dioxide  is  dissolved  in  sulphuric  acid,  making  the  fuming 
acid. 


58 


CHAPTER    VII 


Muriatic  Acid 


Another  Primary  Ingredient  of  Many 
Industries 


HE  production  of  muriatic  acid,  known  in  chem- 
istry as  hydrochloric  acid,  by  the  action  of  sul- 
phuric acid  on  salt,  was  in  progress  before  its 
commercial  value  was  appreciated.  The  industry  was  the 
manufacture  of  salt  cake  or  sodium  sulphate,  which  largely 
was  consumed  in  the  making  of  glass.  In  this  process  salt 
or  brine  was  heated  with  concentrated  sulphuric  acid. 
Sodium  sulphate  was  formed  and  the  freed  muriatic  acid 
gas  escaped  as  fumes. 

This  was  years  before  the  Ducktown  experience  with  sul- 
phuric acid,  and  it  was  in  England,  but  a  similar  situation 
developed.  The  fumes  killed  the  vegetation  and  the  English 
Government  passed  a  law  requiring  that  they  be  confined. 

This  law  led  to  a  large  scale  production  of  muriatic  acid 
and  its  principal  source  as  a  commercial  article  still  is  a 
by-product  in  the  production  of  salt  cake,  in  the  United 
States  as  well  as  in  England. 

The  confined  fumes  are  conducted  to  water  and  there 
absorbed,  for  water  greedily  assimilates  it.  The  solution  is 
the  commercial  form  of  muriatic  acid. 


59 


Another  process  for  its  manufacture  is  known  as  Har- 
greave's  process.  This  consists  in  passing  a  mixture  of 
sulphuric  dioxide,  air  and  steam  over  highly  heated  salt. 
Sodium  sulphate  and  muriatic  acid  again  are  formed  and 
the  acid  is  absorbed  in  water,  as  in  the  salt  cake  method. 

In  neither  case  is  the  acid  pure,  but  in  industry  it  seldom 
is  required  in  an  absolutely  pure  state.  The  making  of  the 
pure  acid  can  be  achieved  by  distilling  pure  salt  and  sul- 
phuric acid  in  platinum  retorts. 

Here  are  its  principal  uses  in  industry : 

In  the  making  of  chlorine  for  the  manufacture  of  bleach- 
ing powder;  to  produce  chlorates;  in  color  and  dyeing 
industries;  in  purifying  coke,  iron  ores  and  clay;  in  a  simi- 
lar use  to  sulphuric  acid  in  "pickling"  sheet  iron — by  re- 
moving dirt  and  rust  and  making  a  clean  surface  for  the 
zinc  to  adhere  to  in  galvanizing;  in  preparing  clay  for 
the  potter,  and  in  producing  gold  chloride  for  use  in 
photography. 

Muriatic  acid  eats  the  resin  out  of  wood  and  penetrates 
steel.  Standard  Tank  Cars  in  which  it  is  shipped  are  con- 
structed of  wooden  tanks  inside  steel  shells,  with  a  compo- 
sition of  tar  and  asphalt  about  two  inches  thick  between 
the  tanks  and  the  shells.  There  are  no  outlets  at  the  bottom 
of  the  tanks,  the  acid  being  syphoned  out  through  the  dome. 

The  acid,  which  is  colorless,  is  comparatively  cheap 
because  there  is  a  greater  demand  for  sodium  sulphate  than 
for  this  by-product. 


60 


CHAPTER    VIII 


Nitric  Acid 


The  Importance  of  Nitric  Acid  in  the  Manufacture 

of  Explosives 

ITRIC  ACID,  as  is  shown  in  the  chapter  on  "Explo- 
sives," is  the  base  of  the  various  nitro  compounds, 
and,  therefore,  is  one  of  the  most  important  of  the 
materials  for  the  manufacture  of  explosives. 

Nitric  acid  is  a  combination  of  nitrogen  and  oxygen. 
Because  of  the  abundance  of  these  elements,  it  easily  is 
obtainable  in  unlimited  quantities.  The  very  air  we  breathe 
is  made  up  of  nitrogen  and  oxygen,  in  other  proportions. 
This  fact  led  to  long  and  diligent  efforts  to  make  nitric  acid 
from  air,  and  finally  they  have  met  with  considerable  success. 

It  was  found  that  the  passage  of  electric  sparks  through 
moist  air  produced  nitric  acid.  The  principle  was  applied 
industrially,  by  shooting  currents  of  air  through  arcs  of 
electric  current  of  high  voltage.  This  produces  nitric  oxide, 
which  is  enriched  with  more  oxygen  and  converted  into 
nitric  acid  by  being  conducted  to  a  stream  of  water. 

Other  methods  of  obtaining  nitric  acid  from  air  are  the 
burning  of  phosphorus  in  a  confined  volume  of  air  and  by 


61 


evaporating  liquid  air.    Free  nitrogen  first  is  secured  and 
the  nitric  acid  is  prepared  by  a  treatment  with  water. 

Nitric  acid  also  is  produced  by  distillation  processes.  The 
materials  used  are  sulphuric  acid  and  compounds  contain- 
ing nitre,  such  as  potassium  nitrate,  sodium  nitrate  and 
Chile  saltpetre. 

The  oxidation  of  any  nitrogenous  matter  in  the  presence 
of  water  produces  nitric  acid. 

Under  "Sulphuric  Acid"  it  was  shown  that  nitric  acid  is 
used  in  the  manufacture  of  sulphuric  acid  from  the  fumes 
of  roasting  pyrites.  Other  uses  are  in  the  preparation  of 
coal-tar  dyes  and  to  form  various  nitrates.  The  most  impor- 
tant, of  course,  is  in  the  manufacture  of  explosives. 

Nitric  acid  is  handled  in  a  regular  acid  tank  car  in  a  solu- 
tion of  about  seventy  per  cent,  by  weight,  of  water. 


62 


=5  5  S.--5 

5-  2. s;.* 

s  '    a  < 


Copyright  by  Underwood  &  Underwood,  N.  Y. 


MAKING  WALL  AND  FLOOR  TILE 

One  of  the  many  uses  of  muriatic  acid  is  in  the  preparation  oj 
potters'  clay  for  the  making  of  all  sort*  of  tile  and  pottery. 


CHAPTER     IX 


Chlorine 


The  Use  of  Chlorine  in  the  Development  of 
Modern  Bleaching 

OLLOWING  the  chemical  cycle  from  sulphuric 
acid  to  muriatic  acid,  we  get  chlorine  from  muri- 
atic acid.  Chlorine  is  an  element,  a  greenish-yel- 
low gas,  of  a  pungent  and  suffocating  smell.  While  it  i? 
secured  from  muriatic  acid  by  combining  the  hydrogen  in 
the  compound  with  oxygen,  leaving  pure  chlorine,  it  also 
is  obtained  by  other  methods,  namely,  the  ammonia-soda 
process  of  alkali  manufacture  and  by  electrolyzing  sodium 
and  potassium  chlorides.  It  is  by  the  last  named  method 
that  most  of  the  commercial  chlorine  is  obtained. 

Chlorine  is  liquified  under  cold  and  pressure  and  shipped 
in  small  tanks  inside  wooden  box  cars.  It  may  be  handled 
in  large  tank  cars  of  special  construction,  the  tanks  having 
been  tested  to  a  pressure  of  360  pounds  to  the  square  inch. 

Chlorine  is  used  in  the  working  of  gold  into  manufac- 
tured articles  but  it  plays  a  far  more  important  part  in 
industry  in  the  manufacture  of  bleaching  powder.  Indeed, 

63 


it  was  first  introduced  in  industry  as  an  adjunct  to  bleach- 
ing and  its  addition  there  revolutionized  that  industry. 

Bleaching  is  not  only  applied  to  textile  fabrics,  but  it  is 
used  to  whiten  paper  pulp,  beeswax,  certain  oils  and  other 
substances.  Without  the  bleaching  of  textiles,  however, 
womankind — and  mankind,  too — would  be  denied  the  van- 
ity of  gorgeous  raiment,  for  cotton,  wool,  silk,  flax  and  the 
like  are  saturated  with  foreign  matters  which  must  be 
removed  to  make  them  white  and  prepare  them  for  the  dye- 
ing that  will  give  them  color.  Without  bleaching  the 
housewife  would  be  deprived  even  of  white  linens. 

Bleaching  undoubtedly  is  as  old  as  civilization  itself, 
because  of  the  obvious  fact  that  continuous  washing  and 
exposure  to  sunlight  of  a  fabric  cleans  and  whitens  it.  We 
know  that  in  the  day  of  the  glories  of  ancient  Egypt,  her 
white  and  colored  linens  were  in  high  repute;  and  the 
Phoenicians  must  have  had  a  rather  perfected  process  for 
bleaching,  since  the  fame  of  their  brilliant  purples  has  come 
down  to  us. 

Up  until  shortly  before  Americans  ceased  to  be  colonists 
of  the  British  Empire,  Holland  had  a  virtual  monopoly  of 
bleaching.  The  brown  linen  of  the  British  Isles  was  sent 
there  in  March  and  was  not  returned  until  October.  The 
Dutch  method  was  first  to  steep  the  cloth  in  waste  lye  and 
then  give  it  a  week's  treatment  with  boiling  potash  lye. 
After  that  the  cloth  was  washed  and  put  under  pressure  in 
buttermilk  for  five  or  six  days,  when  it  was  taken  out  and 
spread  upon  the  grass  for  exposure  to  sunlight  during  the 
summer  months. 


64 


The  treatment  of  flax  was  cruder  still  in  Scotland.  They 
steeped  it  in  cow's  dung  for  the  "souring"  process,  and 
wool  was  treated  in  stale  urine. 

The  first  step  toward  modern  methods  was  the  substitu- 
tion of  dilute  sulphuric  acid  for  the  sour  milk.  It  raised  a 
storm  of  protest  on  the  grounds  that  it  would  injure  the 
fabrics.  Then  came  chlorine,  through  the  discovery  that 
it  would  destroy  vegetable  coloring  and  take  the  place  of 
the  long  treatment  by  sunlight.  Yet  it  was  not  very  suc- 
cessful at  first  because  of  prejudice  against  its  effect  on  the 
cloth  and  also  because  of  the  difficulties  of  working  with 
the  dangerous  chlorine  gas.  In  1799,  Charles  Tennant,  of 
Glasgow,  introduced  chloride  of  lime,  or  bleaching  powder. 
The  hazards  of  using  chlorine  were  removed,  and  all  the 
essentials  of  modern  bleaching  were  available. 

The  treatment  of  cotton,  wool,  linen,  silk  and  the  other 
textiles  all  differ,  both  in  method  and  in  the  machinery 
employed.  Nevertheless,  the  principles  necessarily  are  the 
same  and  modern  machinery  has  eliminated  the  tedious- 
ness  of  nature's  slow  processes. 

The  production  of  chlorine  from  muriatic  acid  depends 
on  the  oxidization  of  the  acid,  the  usual  agent  being  man- 
ganese dioxide.  Bleaching  powder  is  then  prepared  by  the 
absorption  of  the  chlorine  in  lime.  The  reactions  in 
bleaching  are  secured  by  the  effect  of  sunlight,  or  by  warm- 
ing. 

The  great  demand  for  chlorine  has  led  to  its  preparation 
as  a  by-product  in  the  ammonia-soda  process  of  alkali  manu- 


65 


facture.    Essentially,  this  process  is  the  breaking  up  of  salt 
by  subjecting  it  to  an  ammonia  vapor  and  carbon  dioxide. 

The  modern  electrolytic  process  is  to  pass  a  current  of 
electricity  through  common  salt  brine.  The  chlorine  gas 
at  once  arises,  leaving  a  residue  of  caustic  soda.  The  gas 
is  condensed  into  liquid  chlorine  and  the  soda  is  purified 
for  commercial  use.  During  the  closing  days  of  the  war, 
the  government  was  producing  100  tons  of  chlorine  and 
112  tons  of  caustic  soda  a  day  at  the  Edgewood  Arsenal. 
Great  quantities  of  chlorine  were  needed  for  toxic  gases 
and  the  plant  at  Edgewood  is  the  largest  chlorine  and  caus- 
tic soda  factory  in  the  world. 

Bleaching  liquids  also  are  made  direct  by  the  electrolytic 
process  but  they  have  in  no  wise  supplanted  the  bleaching 
powder  made  from  chlorine  and  lime. 


CHAPTER     X 


Caustic  Soda 


Its  Service  in  the  Manufacture  of  Many  Products 

and  as  a  Sterilizer 

HE  modern  method  of  manufacturing  caustic  soda 
is  the  electrolytic  process,  as  explained  under 
"Chlorine."  However,  older  methods  of  alkali 
manufacture  still  are  employed  to  some  extent.  The  oldest 
is  the  Leblanc  process,  invented  in  France  in  1791,  which 
was  the  first  method  provided  to  get  soda  and  potash  from 
their  salts. 

Before  Leblanc's  invention  the  world's  sources  of  soda 
and  potash  were  confined  to  wood  and  seaweed.  Leblanc 
won  a  prize  from  the  French  Academy  but  later  died  by 
his  own  hand  in  a  workhouse,  with  no  material  reward  for 
his  great  idea.  While  his  process  is  more  or  less  obsolete 
today,  still  he  was  the  first  to  give  the  world  materials  for 
cheap  soap,  cheap  glass  and  cheap  bleaching. 

Another  method  of  manufacturing  caustic  soda  is  the 
ammonia-soda  process. 

All  three  processes — the  Leblanc,  the  ammonia-soda  and 
the  electrolytic — aim  at  the  same  thing,  that  is  the  breaking 


67 


up  of  salt.  The  first  two  require  a  complicated  chemical 
treatment  of  the  salt  while  electrolysis  divides  the  salt  into 
the  desired  products  almost  directly.  Through  the  develop- 
ment of  cheap  electric  current  from  water  power,  it  also 
has  become  the  most  economical. 

Pure  caustic  soda  is  a  crystalline  solid,  but  it  readily  dis- 
solves in  water  and  is  handled  in  tank  cars  in  a  weak  solution. 

The  part  it  plays  in  the  manufacture  of  soap  is  explained 
under  "Soap."  It  also  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  paper 
textile  fabrics,  in  the  preparation  of  alizarin  dyes  and  of 
other  coloring  matters,  in  purifying  gasoline  and  other  oils 
and  liquids,  and  as  a  sterilizing  agent. 


68 


Copyright  by  Underwood  &  lTnderwood,  N.  Y. 


".  •-  -     -  -•••    ' 
/  -           *  '      &i*  '  '  *- "  ~-;  - 

^   KANSAS   SALT  MINE 

You  may  think  of  salt  only  as  a  condiment,  but  from  it  we  get 
materials  for  soap,  glass  and  bleaching  powder.  Two  salt 
products  employed  in  these  industries  and  transported  in  tank 
cars  are  chlorine  and  caustic  soda. 


CHAPTER    XI 


Potash 


The  Great  Demand  for  Potash  and  the  Recent 

Efforts  to  Increase  Production  in 

the  United  States 

OTASH  has  a  considerable  use  in  industrial  chem- 
istry, but  it  is  most  valuable  as  a  fertilizer.  What 
is  meant  by  potash  in  chemistry  is  potassium  car- 
bonate. It  is  handled  in  two  forms;  hydrated,  which  is 
combined  with  water,  and  calcined,  which  is  dried  through 
heat.  The  potash  for  fertilizer  is  in  the  form  of  potash  salt. 

Potassium  carbonate  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  glass, 
in  the  place  of  sodium  carbonate,  and  in  the  making  of 
chromates  of  potassium,  salts  employed  in  the  chrome 
process  of  tanning  leather.  Caustic  potash,  which  is  pro- 
duced from  potassium  carbonate  in  the  same  way  that  caus- 
tic soda  is  prepared  from  sodium  carbonate,  is  in  demand 
in  the  making  of  soap,  especially  certain  soft  soaps. 

If  potash  products  instead  of  soda  products  are  desired 
in  alkali  manufacture,  the  change  is  made  by  substituting 
potassium  chloride  for  sodium  chloride,  or  in  other  words, 
potassium  salts  for  sodium  salts.  But  until  recently  Ger- 
many virtually  had  a  monopoly  of  potash  manufacture, 


69 


principally  on  account  of  possessing  superior  raw  material. 
Practically  all  potash  used  in  this  country  was  imported 
from  Germany.  Our  imports  amounted  to  about  1,000,000 
tons  a  year. 

The  war,  however,  brought  a  great  change.  Under 
stimuli  from  the  United  States  Government,  great  efforts 
have  been  made  to  manufacture  our  potash  supply  in  this 
country.  Despite  many  difficulties,  considerable  success 
has  been  attained,  although  the  shortage  still  is  acute. 

Potash  is  vital  to  the  production  of  suitable  truck  vege- 
tables of  the  South  and  a  lack  of  it  results  in  a  decrease  in 
the  production  of  cotton  and  corn.  Where  the  soil  is  weak 
in  potash  deposit,  all  crops  suffer.  Potash  is  taken  out  of 
the  soil  and  assimilated  in  the  growth  of  plants. 

Most  of  the  potash  produced  in  this  country  is  supplied 
by  natural  brines.  A  number  of  small  shallow  lakes  in  the 
sand  hill  region  of  Nebraska  have  been  found  to  contain 
paying  deposits.  The  sub-surface  sands  are  impregnated 
with  brine  and  pumped  into  plants  for  treatment. 

The  largest  plant  in  the  country  is  at  Searless  Lake,  Cali- 
fornia, operated  by  the  Trona  Corporation.  Other  plants 
are  located  there  also.  Searless  in  reality  is  not  a  lake  but 
a  salt  incrusted  valley  floor,  covering  approximately  twelve 
square  miles.  The  salt  is  deep  and  it  is  estimated  that  it  con- 
tains millions  of  tons  of  potash. 

The  Salduro  Salt  Marsh  of  Utah,  covering  125  square 
miles,  resembles  Searless  Lake,  and  preparations  are  under 
way  to  work  that  deposit.  Deposits  of  alunite  near  Marys- 


vale,  Utah,  also  are  being  worked  for  potash.     Another 
source  is  the  great  Salt  Lake  of  Utah. 

Some  potash  is  being  secured  from  the  dust  incurred  in 
the  manufacture  of  cement,  and  small  quantities  are  a  by- 
product of  the  making  of  explosives.  Wood  ash,  molasses 
residue  and  many  other  materials  contain  small  amounts. 
Feldspar  and  other  silicates  are  being  worked  for  it.  Gold 
probably  is  not  sought  more  eagerly  than  commercial  quan- 
tities of  potash. 

The  kelp,  a  seaweed,  which  grows  in  great  quantities 
along  the  Pacific  Coast,  has  long  been  known  as  a  valuable 
fertilizer,  and  now  potash  is  being  produced  from  it  to  the 
extent  that  the  quantity  is  second  to  that  from  brines.  The 
Hercules  Powder  Company  has  a  plant  in  California  which 
consumes  great  quantities  of  kelp,  from  which  is  produced 
potassium  chloride,  acetone,  iodine  and  ethyl  products. 

Handled  in  a  weak  solution,  potash  is  not  injurious  to 
tank  cars. 


71 


CHAPTER     XII 


Acetone 


The  Employment  of  Acetone  in  Explosives 
and  as  a  Solvent 

E  have  seen  how  acetate  of  lime  is  obtained  in  the 
process  of  distilling  wood  alcohol.  From  it  acetic 
acid  is  obtained.  Some  acetone  may  be  procured 
in  this  process  of  fractional  distillation,  but  on  a  large  scale 
it  is  prepared  by  the  dry  distillation  of  calcium  acetate. 
Another  method  of  manufacture  is  by  the  passing  of  the 
vapor  of  acetic  acid  through  pumice  and  precipitated 
barium  carbonate.  The  crude  acid  may  be  purified  by  fur- 
ther chemical  combinations  and  distillation. 

The  most  important  use  of  acetone  is  in  the  manufacture 
of  cordite,  an  explosive.  To  secure  this  product  the  crude 
acid  is  distilled  over  sulphuric  acid  and  fractionated.  Ace- 
tone also  is  used  to  produce  chloroform  and  sulphenol  and 
as  a  solvent.  It  has  a  considerable  value  in  the  manufacture 
of  a  number  of  chemicals,  such  as  artificial  indigo  and 
iodoform. 

Acetone  is  a  colorless  mobile  liquid  with  a  pleasant  odor, 
but  it  has  a  biting  taste  and  is  very  inflammable.  It  is  another 
of  those  chemicals  whose  transportation  would  be  a  per- 
plexing problem  except  for  such  refinements  as  are  pro- 
vided in  Standard  Tank  Cars. 

72 


Copyright  by  Gqfnijifof  &oi«-l?ii*>!i*  ]r\S(fy 
Undertfood '&*irdtrw.i6d/N.  V; 


''-''  ANAESTHETICS  IN  THE  WAR 

A  photograph  of  an  actual  operation  aboard  the  Hospital  Ship 
Mercy  during  the  war.  Tank  cars  are  uxed  to  .thip  ether  and 
the  material. <t  from  which  it  if  made,  ethyl  and  methyl  alcohol. 


CHAPTER     XIII 


Ether 


An  Anaesthetic,  and  an  Ingredient  in 
Smokeless  Powder 

THER  may  be  obtained  from  both  ethyl  and  methyl 
alcohols  by  removing  part  of  their  water  content. 
The  principal  method  of  manufacture  is  through 
the  action  of  sulphuric  acid  on  alcohol.  Alkyl  sulphuric 
acids  are  formed  first  and  then  the  addition  of  more  alcohol 
and  heating  produce  ether.  Ether  is  a  very  volatile  liquid. 
It  has  a  pleasant  odor  and  boils  and  burns  easily. 

Other  acids  may  be  substituted  for  sulphuric  and  many 
variations  made  in  applying  them  for  the  making  of  ether. 

As  pointed  out  in  the  chapter  on  "Alcohol,"  it  is  used  in 
surgery  as  an  anaesthetic,  in  the  preparation  of  smokeless 
powder,  in  collodion,  and  in  the  manufacture  of  artificial 
silk. 

It  is  one  of  many  commodities  that  must  be  carefully 
handled  in  tanks,  since  it  evaporates  rapidly  at  a  low  tem- 
perature. However,  it  is  readily  soluble  in  water,  and  in 
this  form  may  easily  be  transported  in  the  proper  type  of 
Standard  Tank  Car. 


CHAPTER    XIV 


Ammonia 


The  Use  of  Ammonia  in  Refrigeration 

MONG  the  many  things  that  distinguish  the 
American  mode  of  living  from  the  European  is 
our  common  use  of  ice.  Especially  does  America 
lead  the  nations  of  Europe  in  methods  of  refrigeration  by 
which  fresh  meat,  vegetables  and  other  foodstuffs  are  trans- 
ported great  distances.  In  the  single  instance  of  cattle  rais- 
ing, refrigeration  is  as  necessary  to  the  maintenance  of  a 
profit  in  beef  as  the  very  foodstuffs  of  the  cattle.  And 
ammonia  processes  are  the  principal  methods  of  refrigera- 
tion and  in  the  manufacture  of  ice. 

It  is  too  much  of  a  thought  to  consider  what  we  would 
do  in  this  country  if  we  had  to  go  back  to  the  early  methods 
of  refrigeration,  such  as  the  old  spring  and  the  well.  With 
prohibition  sweeping  the  country,  there  would  be  no  cool- 
ing soft  drinks  at  soda  fountains  to  quench  thirst,  to  say 
nothing  of  our  supplies  of  fresh  meats,  fish,  vegetables  and 
fruits.  Yet  the  principles  of  modern  refrigeration  virtually 
are  the  same  as  in  those  days  when  life  in  America  was 
centered  about  the  farm. 

Refrigeration  simply  is  the  cooling  of  a  body  by  the  trans- 
fer of  a  part  of  its  heat  to  another  and  cooler  body.  Heat  is 


74 


Copyright  by  Underwood  &  Underwood,  N.  Y. 


KEEPING  FISH  FRESH 

The  preservation  of  foodstuffs  by  refrigeration  is  a  vital  part 
of  our  economic  life.  Tank  cars  handle  great  quantities  of 
ammonia  for  use  in  refrigeration. 


a  positive  while  cold  is  a  negative.  There  are  a  number  of 
methods  of  applying  the  principle,  but  we  will  consider 
only  those  in  which  ammonia  is  used,  which,  after  all,  are 
the  ones  most  generally  employed. 

First,  let  us  trace  the  source  of  ammonia. 

It  is  a  distillate  and  its  sources  are  widely  scattered,  from 
stable  manure  to  the  very  air  we  breathe.  It  was  first  secured 
by  the  action  of  alkalis  on  ammonium  salts.  These  salts 
are  found  in  volcanic  districts.  Later  it  was  obtained  by 
distilling  horns  and  hoofs  of  cattle  and  neutralizing  the 
resulting  carbonate  with  hydrochloric  acid.  These  same 
principles  are  still  employed,  but  a  practical  method  of  pro- 
ducing large  quantities  is  from  the  ammoniacal  liquor  of 
gas  works.  Ammonia  also  is  found  in  small  quantities  as 
a  carbonate  in  the  atmosphere,  being  produced  from  the 
putrefaction  of  nitrogen  and  animal  and  vegetable  matter. 
Small  quantities  may  be  secured  from  this  source  by  an  elec- 
trical process. 

Long  ago,  it  was  discovered  that  the  change  of  form  of  a 
liquid  to  a  gas  requires  heat.  The  more  volatile  the  liquid 
the  lower  its  boiling  point,  and,  therefore,  the  more  easily 
would  the  process  absorb  heat  from  surrounding  bodies. 

Liquid  air  boils  on  ice  but  liquid  air  can  be  obtained  only 
under  high  pressure.  Water  requires  a  high  boiling  point 
to  change  it  into  steam.  The  discovery  that  the  reduction 
of  pressure  on  water  lowers  its  boiling  point  led  to  a  search 
for  a  more  volatile  liquid  for  use  in  refrigeration.  The 
employment  of  a  vacuum  process  for  reducing  air  pressure 


75 


on  water  requires  too  great  a  mechanical  efficiency. 
Ammonia,  being  more  volatile  and  comparatively  cheap, 
was  found  to  be  a  satisfactory  liquid. 

There  are  two  general  types  of  machines  in  which  it  is 
employed  in  refrigeration  and  in  the  manufacture  of  ice. 
They  are  "compression  machines"  and  "absorption  ma- 
chines." 

A  feature  which  is  the  same  in  both  is  that  the  matter  to 
be  cooled — water,  air  or  brine — surrounds  the  refrigerator 
in  which  the  ammonia  is  evaporating.  For  both,  the  ma- 
chinery throughout  is  very  similar.  The  difference  is  that 
in  the  compression  system  the  evaporation  is  conducted  by 
maintaining  a  lighter  pressure  and  higher  temperature  in 
a  refrigerator  than  in  a  connected  condenser;  while  in 
absorption  it  is  done  by  the  introduction  of  heat  through 
steam  coils  and  the  propensity  of  water  from  which  this  heat 
has  expelled  ammonia  to  absorb  more  ammonia.  In  the  lat- 
ter an  absorber  is  connected  with  a  refrigerator  and  the 
mechanism  so  arranged  that  there  is  a  continuous  flow  of 
ammonia  gas  from  the  liquid  ammonia  in  the  refrigerator 
to  the  water  in  the  absorber. 

The  mechanism  of  both  is  such  that  none  of  the  ammonia 
is  lost,  but  is  in  each  condensed  and  automatically  continued 
through  the  same  process. 

In  the  manufacture  of  ice  the  water  to  be  converted  is 
placed  in  contact  with  pipes  containing  ammonia  vapor  or 
brine.  In  cold  storage  plants  and  in  the  refrigerators  on 
ships,  either  air  is  cooled  and  shot  into  the  space  or  pipes 
containing  cold  brine  are  used.  The  two  sometimes  are 


76 


combined.    But  to  be  effective  cold  storage  rooms  must  be 
so  insulated  that  heat  may  not  penetrate. 

The  system  is  simplified  by  the  fact  that  the  colder  the 
air  the  heavier  it  is,  and  if  the  openings  are  at  the  top  a 
room  will  hold  cold  air  as  a  glass  holds  water.  This  is 
easy  to  arrange  in  the  holds  of  ships  and  it  has  been  found 
economical  even  in  cold  storage  warehouses. 

Refrigeration  is  indispensable  to  most  ocean  traffic. 
Thanks  to  it,  meats,  fish,  vegetables  and  fruits  are  kept  fresh 
to  be  distributed  throughout  the  world.  No  city  could  have 
pure  milk  without  it,  and  much  of  the  food  supply,  such  as 
eggs,  for  instance,  is  stored  in  the  season  of  plenty  for  future 
use.  Refrigeration  enters  largely  into  the  great  meat  pack- 
ing industry  of  this  country. 

Ammonia  has  a  wide  use  in  drugs.  It  has  an  extended 
application  in  industrial  chemistry,  as  illustrated  in  the 
ammonia-soda  process  of  alkali  manufacture.  Also  it  is 
used  in  the  preparation  of  explosives. 

Ammonia  is  a  strong  liquid  and  is  severe  even  on  tank 
cars.  As  a  precaution,  Standard  Tanks  in  which  it  is 
shipped  often  are  coated  on  the  inside  with  an  acid-resist- 
ing paint,  such  as  litharge. 


77 


CHAPTER     XV 


Explosives 


The  Part  of  Explosives  in  the  Pursuits  of  Peace; 
Liquids  that  Go  To  Make  Them 

HILE  the  uses  of  the  various  liquids  handled  in 
tank  cars  are  discussed  in  this  book  under  the  head 
of  each,  it  is  well  to  group  here  those  which  play 

essential  parts  in  the  manufacture  of  explosives,  and  point 

out  the  importance  of  this  industry. 

The  liquids  included  are:  acetone,  alcohol,  ammonia, 
benzol,  toluol,  carbolic  acid,  nitric  acid,  glycerin  and  sul- 
phuric acid. 

With  so  much  of  the  thought  of  the  day  occupied  with  the 
war  and  its  aftermath,  explosives  instantly  suggest  their  use 
exclusively  as  munitions.  The  manufacture  of  explosives 
would  be  a  hectic  sort  of  industry  if  its  products  depended 
on  their  use  in  battle.  Their  vital  part  there  is  generally 
understood,  of  course,  but  their  part  in  the  pursuits  of  peace 
is  just  as  great. 

The  world's  greatest  engineering  feat — the  digging  of 
the  Panama  Canal — never  could  have  been  accomplished 
without  explosives  for  blasting.  America's  railroad  system, 

78 


spanning  hills  and  mountains,  could  not  have  been  con- 
structed with  pick  and  shovel  alone.  It  is  estimated  that  the 
farmers  of  this  country  use  25,000,000  pounds  of  dynamite 
each  year  in  clearing  lands,  draining  swamps,  planting  trees 
and  breaking  up  impervious  subsoils.  Explosives  are  an 
indispensable  part  of  the  materials  for  coal  mining,  and 
also  for  the  extraction  of  the  precious  metals  from  the  earth. 
They  are  employed  in  the  preparation  of  the  foundations 
for  the  great  buildings  in  our  cities,  in  all  the  great  quarries 
and  in  countless  other  important  works. 

Great  mills  are  required  for  the  manufacture  of  explo- 
sives, but  fundamentally  the  processes  are  chemical. 

The  most  valuable  of  modern  explosives  are  the  smoke- 
less propellants,  the  propellants  being  the  type  of  explosives 
with  the  property  of  sundering  bodies  about  them.  Most 
propellants  are  nitrates,  that  is,  combinations  from  nitric 
acid.  Among  the  smokeless  propellants,  the  combinations 
of  guncotton  and  nitroglycerin  lead  the  field.  This  product 
was  invented  by  A.  Nobel,  the  donor  of  the  famous  prizes. 

Guncotton  is  made  by  immersions  of  pulp  from  pure  cot- 
ton in  nitric  and  sulphuric  acids.  The  perfecting  of  it  for 
use  in  smokeless  powder  is  attained  by  partial  dissolution 
in  acetone  or  in  certain  benzene  compounds. 

Nitroglycerin  is  made  from  nitric  acid  and  glycerin,  and 
is  a  principle  component  in  dynamite. 

Alcohol,  as  has  been  explained,  is  used  to  form  fulmi- 
nates. Ammonia  is  employed  principally  in  preparing 


79 


ammonia  nitrates,  but  it  also  is  applied  in  the  making  of  a 
number  of  other  important  explosive  materials. 

An  old  and  simple  propellant  is  nitrobenzene,  a  combina- 
tion of  nitric  acid  and  benzene. 

Carbolic  acid  is  the  source  of  picric  acid  and  other  high 
explosive  elements. 

Toluol,  or  toluene,  combines  with  nitric  acid  to  make 
nitro-toluenes,  which  are  used  with  certain  ammonium 
jiitrate  explosives  and  to  lower  the  freezing  point  of  dyna- 
mite. Several  million  pounds  are  used  each  year  in  the 
manufacture  of  low-freezing  dynamites. 

T.  N.  T.  (trinitrotoluene),  one  of  the  most  famous  explo- 
sives of  the  Great  War,  is  a  combination  of  nitric  acid  and 
toluene  and  is  typical  of  the  important  nitrotoluene  explo- 
sives. A  quality  of  great  value  in  T.  N.  T.  is  that  it  is  not 
sensitive  to  shock. 

From  naphthalene  and  nitric  acid  certain  explosives  are 
made  that  are  particularly  suitable  for  coal  mining. 

The  various  ingredients  from  coal-tar  which  are  employed 
in  explosives  are  used  to  impart  some  particular  character- 
istic. The  principal  ones  used  are  benzol  and  toluol.  They 
must  be  of  a  high  degree  of  purity  to  prevent  the  formation 
of  products  of  inferior  stability. 


80 


CHAPTER    XVI 


Tannic  Acid 


Processes  in  the  Making  of  Leather 

MAN  who  goes  into  a  store  to  get  a  suit  of  clothes 
usually  buys  by  pattern  and  fit;  the  texture  of  the 
goods  he  considers  beyond  his  sphere.  But  let  him 
consider  the  purchase  of  a  traveling  bag,  a  pair  of  shoes, 
or  a  saddle,  and  watch  how  he  feels  the  leather  and  studies 
its  grain.  When  it  comes  to  leather,  every  man  considers 
himself  an  expert. 

In  taking  up  the  study  of  tannin,  or  tannic  acid,  we  are 
considering  that  commodity  which  converts  rawhide  into 
leather.  The  interest  of  the  average  man  in  its  products  is 
developed  to  a  high  degree  in  the  horseman,  the  army  officer 
and  types  whose  vocations  bring  them  into  a  more  extensive 
use  of  leather.  They  learn  that  it  has  a  life  that  soon  will 
die,  unless  properly  cleaned,  oiled  and  polished.  In  short, 
they  practice  in  the  care  of  leather  the  same  principles  that 
enter  into  its  manufacture  from  the  raw  skins.  The  skins, 
in  a  raw  state,  are  readily  putrescible,  and  if  dried  become 
hard  and  intractable.  They  must  be  tanned  with  acid;  they 
must  be  oiled  and  dried,  and  made  pliable,  and  to  keep  them 
in  proper  condition  after  they  have  been  made  into  shoes  or 


81 


harness,  a  treatment  with  oil  must  be  continued.  There  is 
no  doubt  that  the  cave  man,  who  clothed  himself  with  the 
hide  of  a  goat  or  leopard,  knew  something  about  tanning 
skins,  else  he  had  a  most  horrible  apparel  in  addition  to  his 
other  discomforts. 

The  sources  of  tannic  acid  are  abundant  in  nature.  It  is 
found  in  the  bark,  wood,  roots,  fruits  and  leaves  of  many 
plants.  Among  the  American  sources  are  chestnut,  oak- 
wood,  white  birch  and  willow  bark,  galls,  oak  bark  and 
sumach.  Oak  bark  produces  the  best  leather  known.  The 
gall  nuts  are  the  familiar  abnormal  growth  upon  oaks. 
They  are  caused  by  the  gall  wasp  laying  its  eggs  in  that 
part  of  the  tree,  and  they  contain  from  fifty  to  sixty  per  cent 
of  tannin.  The  tannic  acid  from  them  largely  is  used  in 
the  manufacture  of  inks  and  dyes  rather  than  in  tanning 
leather.  It  is  easily  soluble  in  water,  the  compound  making 
a  dark  blue  or  green  liquid. 

The  most  useful  and  most  plentiful  tannin  is  secured  from 
sumach.  It  produces  an  almost  white  and  very  beautiful 
leather  that  is  used  extensively  for  book  bindings  and  similar 
fine  leathers. 

Sumach  grows  plentifully  on  uncultivated  land  over  a 
large  part  of  the  United  States.  It  grows  as  a  shrub,  or 
small  tree,  and  in  many  varieties.  It  is  successfully  culti- 
vated to  a  small  extent,  but  even  the  wild  growth  has  not 
been  exploited  to  anything  like  its  commercial  value. 

The  quality  of  all  tannic  acid  is  determined  to  a  great 
extent  by  the  degree  of  whiteness  to  which  it  will  bring 


82 


Copyright  by  I'r 


MAKING  TAN  NIC  ACID 

Hark  find  wood  from  various  trees  and  plants  are  ground  up 
and  leached  in  vats  of  water  to  make  tannic  acid.  The  acid, 
another  of  the  important  commercial  liquids  transported  in 
tank  cars,  is  used  to  convert  rairhide  into  leather. 


leathers.  The  usual  procedure  of  the  tanner  is  to  combine 
two  or  more  of  them,  for  in  general  they  all  have  the  same 
qualities. 

While  the  acid  to  some  extent  is  free  in  plants,  most  of  it 
is  contained  in  cells.  To  produce  it,  the  leaves,  or  bark,  or 
wood  must  be  thoroughly  ground  and  bruised  so  as  to  break 
the  cells.  This  is  done  in  "hog"  machines,  built  somewhat 
on  the  principle  of  a  coffee  grinder.  The  mass  is  then  put 
in  water  and  the  liquor  that  results  is  what  is  known  as  tan- 
nin, or  tannic  acid. 

The  action  of  the  acid  on  the  skins  is  chemical  and  phys- 
ical. It  works  as  a  powerful  astringent  and  forms  an 
insoluble  gelatinous  compound  within  the  leather  which 
affects  its  hardness  and  makes  it  waterproof.  Thus  the 
extent  of  treatment  of  the  hides  with  the  acid  determines 
the  quality  of  leather  which  will  result;  sole  leathers  and 
the  like  being  given  much  stronger  treatment  than  light  and 
fine  leather. 

A  series  of  pits  of  the  acid  solution,  of  varying  degrees 
of  concentration,  are  arranged  so  that  the  hides  may  be 
treated  as  desired,  the  periods  of  immersion  varying  from 
days  to  weeks.  In  addition  to  the  solution,  vegetable  "dust" 
is  sprinkled  on  the  hides  for  mellowing. 

Hides  come  to  the  tanner  in  all  sorts  of  conditions.  Some 
are  covered  with  blood  and  dirt,  others  are  salted,  and  still 
others  have  been  dried  in  the  sun.  Before  they  are  subjected 
to  the  tanning  process,  they  must  be  cleaned  and  as  nearly 

83 


as  possible  restored  to  the  flaccid  condition  in  which  they 
came  off  of  the  animal's  back. 

The  first  work  then  is  soaking  and  cleaning.  Caustic 
soda  and  sulphuric  acid  are  used  to  advantage  in  this  work. 
The  next  step  is  to  remove  the  hair  and  swell  the  hides,  that 
they  may  properly  receive  the  tannin  liquor.  The  hides  are 
put  through  a  series  of  solutions  of  lime  and  scraped  with 
an  unhairing  knife. 

It  is  at  this  stage  that  the  actual  tanning  begins,  being 
divided  into  three  operations :  coloring,  handling  and  laying 
away.  The  concentration  of  the  acid  increases  with  each 
operation.  The  hides  are  first  colored  in  a  weak  solution, 
then  handled  forward  from  weaker  to  stronger  solutions, 
and  finally  deposited  in  a  very  concentrated  solution  for  a 
period  of  perhaps  two  weeks.  The  "dusting"  with  mellow 
vegetable  materials  is  done  just  before  the  goods  are  laid 
away;  the  softer  the  leather  desired  the  more  mellowing 
material  being  required. 

The  finishing  process  includes  a  scouring,  a  bleaching 
in  sumach  or  some  other  similar  liquor,  oiling  with  fish  oil, 
washing  again,  then  rolling  and  being  hung  up  to  dry. 

Currying  is  the  next  treatment  given.  It  is  not  a  part  of 
tanning  proper,  but  determines  to  a  considerable  extent  the 
quality  of  the  leather.  It  consists  in  working  oil  and  grease 
into  the  leather  to  make  it  more  pliable  and  to  add  to  its 
strength.  The  action  of  the  oils  also  is  chemical  as  well  as 
physical,  its  operation  adding  much  strength  to  the  leather. 
It  is  for  this  reason  that  only  animal  oils  are  suitable,  the 


84 


favorites  being  whale  and  fish  oils.    Mineral  oils  act  only 
as  a  lubricant. 

The  whole  process  for  the  making  of  the  best  leathers 
requires  from  seven  to  ten  months.  Frequently  the  time  is 
reduced  in  the  making  of  cheaper  goods. 

Another  and  more  modern  method  for  tanning  leather  is 
the  chrome  process.  This  is  a  substitution  of  a  mineral  for 
a  vegetable  tanning  agent.  Essentially,  it  is  a  partial  chem- 
ical combination  between  the  hide  fibre  and  chrome  salts. 
One  of  the  solutions  is  potassium  bichromate,  muriatic  acid 
and  water.  There  are  several  similar  combinations  for  the 
immersions. 

The  leather  produced  is  much  stronger  than  any  other 
leather.  It  will  stand  boiling  water  while  vegetable  tanned 
leather  will  not. 

Of  commercial  importance  is  a  combination  of  the  two 
methods.  After  leather  has  been  tanned  by  either  of  the 
two  methods,  the  liquors  of  the  other  will  act  upon  it  to 
some  extent.  The  vegetable  tanning  gives  leather  a  plump- 
ness and  resistance  to  water,  while  the  mineral  process 
will  add  a  softness  that  can  not  be  attained  except  by  much 
currying. 

There  are  many  variations  to  tanning.  There  is  what  is 
known  as  iron  tannage,  through  the  use  of  ferric  salts.  For 
the  making  of  chamois  leather,  oil  tanning  is  carried  out  on 
much  the  same  principle  as  currying.  There  are  various 
patented  processes  for  the  making  of  special  leathers. 
Parchment,  for  the  printing  of  diplomas  and  similar  things, 

85 


is  made  by  a  particular  treatment  of  sheepskin.    Then  the 
lighter  leathers  are  dyed  in  much  the  same  way  as  textiles. 

The  best  leathers  come  from  well  matured  cattle  that  have 
lived  their  lives  in  the  open.  Stall-fed  animals  render  infe- 
rior skins.  This  is  said  to  be  the  principal  fault  with  horse- 
hide.  Lighter  and  finer  leathers  are  made  from  lower 
grades  of  cattle  skins,  split-hides,  sheep  and  goat  skins, 
horse-hides,  and  so  forth.  But  all  through  the  tanning 
process  the  details  are  regulated  by  the  sort  of  finished  prod- 
uct desired. 

Tank  cars  haul  the  oils  for  the  currying,  muriatic  acid 
and  other  liquids  used  in  tanning,  as  well  as  the  tannic  acid. 
It  takes  great  train  loads  of  tank  cars  to  supply  the  tanner 
with  tannic  acid.  The  cars  in  the  tanning  trade  are  coated 
on  the  inside  with  an  acid  resisting  paint  and  equipped 
with  at  least  two  lines  of  brass  coils.  An  added  precaution 
is  to  have  brass  valves  and  outlet  legs. 


86 


Copyright  by  I*iulrrwoo<l  &  I'ml 


MOVING  LIQUIDS  ON  THE  NILE 


Where  tank  car  service  its  larking,  the  moving  of  liquids  becomes 
a  great  human  drudgery.  In  the  picture  above  men  are  carry- 
ing water  in  goat  skins. 


CHAPTER     XVII 


Castor  Oil 


A  Medicine,  and  a  Lubricant  for  Delicate 

Machinery 

N  industry  which  has  loomed  large  with  the  devel- 
opment of  the  aeroplane  is  the  production  of  cas- 
tor bean  oil.  Long  valued  for  medicinal  purposes 
and  as  a  lubricant,  it  has  been  found  to  be  most  suitable  of 
all  the  oils  for  the  lubrication  of  the  refined  motors  of  the 
aeroplane  and  similar  high  speed  machinery. 

The  castor  bean  plant  is  a  native  of  tropical  Africa  but 
thrives  anywhere  in  the  warmer  temperate  climates.  There 
are  many  varieties  of  the  plant  in  cultivation.  They  vary 
from  scrubby  plants  to  trees  of  from  thirty  to  forty  feet  in 
height.  Because  of  the  beauty  of  its  leaves  it  frequently  is 
cultivated  as  an  ornament,  the  plants  being  readily  grown 
from  the  seeds. 

The  bean  has  been  grown  and  the  oil  manufactured  on 
an  extensive  scale  in  California  for  some  years.  The 
demand  for  the  oil  as  a  lubricant  for  aircraft  engines  dur- 
ing the  war  caused  the  United  States  Government  to 
encourage  the  cultivation  of  the  plant,  and  quantities  of  the 

87 


bean  were  grown  all  over  the  southern  section  of  the 
country. 

For  many  years  the  oil  has  been  an  important  import 
from  the  Orient. 

The  beans  grow  in  a  three-celled  capsule  with  one  bean 
to  each  cell.  The  oil  is  extracted  by  a  screw  or  hydraulic 
press.  It  is  then  boiled  with  water,  when  mucilaginous 
matter  collects  on  the  surface  as  a  scum  and  is  removed. 
The  water  is  drawn  off,  the  oil  strained  and  placed  in  tanks 
to  be  bleached.  Then  it  is  ready  to  be  stored  for  shipment. 

India  easily  produces  great  quantities  of  castor  bean  oil 
and  there  it  is  used  for  illumination.  Castor  bean  oil  is  in 
great  demand  as  a  high  grade  lubricant.  Often  for  this  pur- 
pose it  is  combined  with  other  vegetable  and  petroleum  oils. 
Even  before  its  properties  as  a  lubricant  were  so  well  known, 
it  was  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  imitation  rubber  and 
of  plastic  soaps. 

It  is  one  of  the  best  known  and  most  extensively  used 
purgatives,  especially  in  cases  of  temporary  constipation 
among  children  and  the  aged ;  but  medical  authorities  advise 
it  must  not  be  used  in  cases  of  chronic  constipation,  for  this 
it  only  aggravates. 

Medical  science  has  not  yet  determined  exactly  the  prin- 
ciple of  its  purgative  powers.  It  is  considered  probable  that 
this  is  due  to  some  decomposition  that  takes  place  inside  the 
intestines.  Doses  are  from  a  drachm  to  an  ounce,  and 

88 


because  of  the  very  nauseating  taste,  it  is  best  taken  in  cap- 
sule or  with  fruit  juices. 

Castor  oil  is  a  viscid  liquid  but  almost  colorless  when 
pure.  Its  beans  are  poisonous,  having  been  known  to  kill 
adults. 

A  thoroughly  clean  Standard  Tank  Car  with  sealing 
devices  insures  a  most  satisfactory  shipment  of  it. 


89 


CHAPTER    XVIII 


Cotton  Seed  Oil 


How  This  and  Other  Oils  Are  Used  in  the 

Manufacture  of  Compound  Lard 

and  Oleomargarine 

HE  development  of  the  manufacture  and  use  of 
cotton  seed  oil  is  nothing  less  than  a  romance  of 
industry. 

When  we  remember  that  in  the  South  cotton  is  king,  and 
that  prosperity  and  wealth  depend  upon  it,  the  discovery 
of  the  value  of  cotton  seed  was  like  finding  the  fabled  pot 
of  gold  at  the  end  of  the  rainbow. 

Only  a  few  years  ago  the  huge  annual  volume  of  cotton 
seed  was  regarded  as  little  more  than  a  nuisance.  After  the 
planter  had  selected  his  seed  for  planting,  his  principal 
interest  in  the  remainder  of  the  seed  was  to  find  a  place  to 
dump  it.  An  idea  of  the  quantity  is  given  in  the  fact  that 
for  every  500  pounds  of  cotton  produced  there  are  100 
pounds  of  cotton  seed.  To  a  limited  extent  the  seed  was 
fed  to  cattle  and  used  as  fertilizer,  but  the  great  proportion 
went  to  waste. 

Today  the  seed  is  as  carefully  marketed  as  the  staple  itself. 
The  cotton  seed  oil  mills  have  given  it  a  value  formerly 
undreamed  of. 

90 


Copyright  by  Underwood  &  I  mlerw 


COTTON  I.\  FLOWER  AND  L\  FRUIT 


Here  three  interesting  stages  in  the  growth  of  cotton  are  shown — • 
the  blossom,  the  opening  boll  and  the  cotton  ready  to  be  picked. 
Hid  in  the  fleecy  white  bed  are  the  seeds  from,  ichich  the  valuable 
cotton-seed  oil  is  expressed. 


» 'opyriehl  by  I'mlrrwoml  &  I'mliTwood,  X.  Y. 


A  n Kir  f.\  .1  corro\-sKKi)  OIL  MILL 

Cntton-tn'i'd  oil  /.v  obtained  />//  t/rind/ii//  11/1  the  kern  fix  of  cotton- 
xi'cil  and  syui'rziiuj  mil  the  nil  iri/li  the  prc.wx.  It  ?'.v  used  in 
the  preparation  of  compound  lurd,  oleomargarine  and  other 


The  process  of  manufacture  is  to  hull  the  seeds  and  press 
the  oil  from  the  kernels.  The  cakes,  left  after  the  oil  is 
extracted,  are  ground  into  a  greenish  yellow  meal,  which 
has  a  high  value  both  as  a  feed  for  cattle  and  hogs  and  as 
a  fertilizer.  The  hulls  are  a  good  substitute  for  hay. 

The  oil  is  a  heavy  liquid,  the  most  valuable  of  the  cotton 
seed  products.  It  is  produced  in  great  quantities  in  mills 
scattered  widely  over  the  cotton  belt.  The  rich  oil  contains 
fatty  solids  which  give  it  a  tendency  to  solidify  in  cold 
weather.  It  is  cleared  of  these  particles  by  being  chilled; 
the  mushlike  mass  is  then  pressed  and  the  solid  matter 
removed.  The  oil  secured  is  known  as  "winter  yellow"  and 
remains  clear  in  winter  weather.  The  original  oil  is  known 
as  "summer  yellow." 

Further  refining  is  done,  according  to  the  purposes  for 
which  the  oil  is  to  be  used.  The  winter  yellow  is  prepared 
into  substitutes  for  olive  oil  as  an  edible  oil.  The  summer 
yellow  is  employed  in  the  preparation  of  compound  lard. 

The  lard  is  a  compound  of  the  summer  yellow  oil  and 
oleo-stearine,  frequently  with  a  part  of  hog  lard.  Other 
vegetable  oils — nut  oils  and  corn  oil — may  be  added  or 
substituted  altogether  for  the  cotton  seed  oil.  Oleo-stearine 
is  the  solid  part  of  choice  beef  fat  after  the  oil  has  been 
extracted.  The  process  of  boiling  the  fat  and  then  extract- 
ing the  oil  leaves  the  oleo-stearine  a  solid  mass  with  a 
tendency  to  crystallize.  There  is  a  wide  variety  in  the 
proportions  of  the  various  oils  in  the  final  mixture.  They 
largely  are  determined  by  the  sort  of  finished  product 
desired.  The  compound,  after  heating  and  thorough  mix- 


ing,  is  congealed  by  artificial  cooling,  and  the  compound 
lard  formed  is  ready  for  packing  for  the  market. 

The  oleo-oil  extracted  from  the  beef  fat  is  used  with  high 
grade  hog  lard  and  other  ingredients  to  make  a  butter  substi- 
tute, known  under  the  name  of  oleomargarine.  This  prod- 
uct was  invented  as  a  result  of  the  siege  of  Paris  in  the 
Franco-Prussian  war.  The  oleo-oil  may  be  diluted  with 
cotton  seed  oil,  but  such  vegetable  oils  as  cocoanut  oil  and 
peanut  oil  are  better  for  the  purpose.  One  well  known 
method  in  preparing  this  product  is  to  churn  pure  oleo-oil 
in  unskimmed  milk  or  even  pure  cream. 

Refined  cotton  seed  oil  is  used  to  pack  sardines.  The 
poorer  grades  of  the  oil  are  employed  in  the  manufacture 
of  soap,  candles  and  phonograph  records. 

Great  quantities  of  cotton  seed  oil  are  transported  in  tank 
cars. 

Most  of  the  mills  are  small  and  widely  scattered.  The 
crude  oil  is  hauled  in  tank  cars  from  the  mills  to  the  refiners. 
Tank  cars  also  serve  to  carry  the  refined  oil  to  the  manufac- 
turers of  cotton  seed  oil  products.  Standard  Tank  Cars  in 
this  service  are  provided  with  steam  coils. 


92 


CHAPTER    XIX 


Corn  Oil 


A  Fine  Edible  Oil  from  Indian  Corn 

ORN  OIL,  formerly  an  unimportant  by-product, 
has  come  into  prominence  in  the  last  decade  as 
another  food  oil.  It  exists  in  the  small  germ  por- 
tion of  the  common  Indian  corn.  Were  it  not  for  the  fact 
that  this  germ  is  separated  in  the  preparations  of  cornstarch 
and  brewer's  grits,  and  sometimes  in  the  making  of  meal  and 
other  corn  products,  it  probably  would  be  unknown  as  a 
commercial  commodity.  For,  although  the  germ  is  more 
than  half  oil,  the  oil  proportion  of  the  entire  kernel  is  only 
from  3  to  6.5  per  cent. 

If  the  germs  are  left  in  the  corn  product,  the  oil  soon 
becomes  rancid  and  the  product  is  made  unfit  for  food. 
Therefore,  hominy  and  cornmeal  that  are  to  be  kept  for  any 
length  of  time,  and  cornstarch  always,  must  be  degerm- 
inated. 

There  are  two  methods  of  accomplishing  this.  The  older, 
known  as  the  wet  method,  is  to  soak  the  kernels  in  a  dilute 
sulphureous  acid.  In  this  way  the  germs  are  toughened  so 
that  they  won't  become  mangled  when  the  corn  is  cracked 
up.  Being  lighter  than  the  starchy  portions  of  the  corn, 


93 


they  are  separated  in  water.     The  second  method  is  a 
mechanical  one  known  as  the  automatic  degerminator. 

The  oil  is  then  extracted  by  processes  similar  to  those 
used  in  securing  cotton  seed  oil. 

The  wet  process  yields  more  oil  but  the  effect  of  the  acid 
is  to  make  it  rancid.  The  oil  from  the  dry  process  is  fit  for 
table  use  with  little  or  no  refining. 

Corn  oil  is  now  available  in  small  retail  packages  as  a 
table  and  cooking  oil.  Large  quantities  are  used  for  techni- 
cal purposes  and  for  lard  substitutes.  It  is  also  used  for 
making  cores  in  foundry  work. 

A  clean  Standard  Tank  Car  is  the  most  suitable  transport 
for  the  oil. 


94 


CHAPTER    XX 


Linseed  Oil 


The  Value  of  this  Oil  from  Flax  Seed  in  the  Manu- 
facture of  Paint  and  in  Other  Industries 

INSEED  OIL,  like  cotton  seed  oil,  stands  as  a  com- 
mentary on  the  bounties  of  nature.  We  get  it  almost 
as  largess  in  the  cultivation  of  flax  for  linen,  just 
as  we  get  cotton  seed  oil  in  the  production  of  cotton. 
Thus  two  of  nature's  best  materials  for  clothing  mankind 
give  also  two  of  the  most  plentiful  and  valuable  of  oils. 

The  artist,  the  commercial  painter,  the  printer  and  the 
lithographer  all  depend  for  their  materials  on  linseed  oil. 
It  is  the  most  valuable  of  the  drying  oils  and  finds  its  greatest 
use  in  the  preparation  of  paints  and  varnishes.  Also  it  is  a 
principal  ingredient  in  printing  and  lithographic  inks. 

Linseed  can  be  grown  in  both  tropical  and  temperate 
climates,  but  there  is  considerable  difference  in  the  seed  of 
the  two  latitudes  for  oil  purposes.  In  the  tropics  the  seeds 
grow  larger  and  contain  a  greater  volume  of  oil,  but  the 
temperate  climate  seeds  give  a  higher  quality  of  oil. 

The  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans  used  linseed  as  a  food. 
The  Abyssinians  today,  it  is  said,  eat  linseed  roasted.  In 


95 


certain  parts  of  Poland  and  Hungary  and  in  Russia,  the 
oil  is  used  to  some  extent  as  a  food.  An  old  remedy  for 
wounds  was  a  linseed  poultice,  but  medical  authorities  today 
condemn  the  poultice  on  the  ground  that  the  linseed  favors 
the  growth  of  micro-organisms. 

To  manufacture  the  oil  the  linseed  is  ground  into  a  fine 
meal.  The  oil  is  extracted  by  steel  presses,  with  or  without 
the  aid  of  heat.  If  pressed  without  heat  the  product  is  a 
golden-yellow  oil  of  the  type  that  is  used  as  an  edible  oil. 
When  heated  the  oil  is  a  deeper  and  darker  color,  and 
although  it  is  secured  in  greater  quantities,  it  must  be  put 
through  a  process  of  refining.  If  stored  for  a  long  time  in 
tanks  it  purifies  and  has  a  high  value  as  "tank  oil."  Time 
in  this  refining  process  is  saved  by  a  treatment  with  sul- 
phuric acid,  the  acid  charring  and  carrying  down  the  bulk 
of  impurities.  The  highest  grade  of  oil,  known  as  "artist's 
oil,"  is  refined  by  exposure  to  sunlight  in  pans  with  glass 
covers. 

The  paint  industry  uses  both  crude  and  boiled  linseed  oil, 
the  boiled  oil  being  the  base  for  most  oil  varnishes.  The 
boiling  is  done  in  iron  or  copper  boilers  where,  after  a  cer- 
tain time,  dryers  are  added.  Among  the  dryers  are  lead 
acetate,  manganese  borate,  manganese  dioxide,  zinc  sulphate 
and  other  compounds. 

For  the  making  of  ink  it  is  boiled  down  to  the  point  when 
it  is  inflammable  and  then  covered  over  and  left  until  it 
becomes  of  such  consistency  that  it  may  be  drawn  in  threads. 

The  cake  that  is  left  of  the  meal,  after  the  oil  has  been 
extracted,  is  used  as  cattle  feed. 

96 


The  oil  is  employed  for  water-proofing  fabrics  for  rain- 
coats and  similar  wearing  materials. 

Because  of  its  high  value  linseed  oil  is  subject  to  many 
falsifications.  Often  cheap  seeds  are  put  with  the  linseed 
before  the  oil  is  extracted.  The  oil  may  be  adulterated  with 
cotton  seed  oil,  niggerseed  and  hempseed  oil.  These  adul- 
terations are  difficult  to  detect,  except  in  the  applications  of 
the  oil,  and  dealers  take  many  precautions  to  prevent  them. 

Tank  cars  for  the  shipment  of  linseed  oil  have  unusually 
large  domes,  as  the  oil  is  loaded  at  high  temperature.  The 
tanks  are  coiled  that  the  oil  may  again  be  heated  to  flow 
freely  in  unloading  it. 


97 


CHAPTER    XXI 


Nut  Oils 


How  Cocoanut  and  Peanut  Oils  Contribute  to  the 

World's  Foods 

N  supplying  the  world  with  foodstuffs,  certain  nuts 
are  coming  more  and  more  into  general  use.  Prin- 
cipal among  these  are  the  cocoanut  and  the  peanut. 

Cocoanut  oil  comes  from  the  nuts  of  the  cocoanut  groves 
of  the  tropics.  It  is  pressed  from  the  white  meat  of  the 
cocoanut  and  is  not  the  milky  liquid  inside  the  nut.  The 
American  supply  is  imported  largely  from  the  Philippines, 
Java  and  Ceylon.  It  is  consumed  in  butter  and  lard  substi- 
tutes, in  the  manufacture  of  soap,  and  to  some  extent  as  a 
heavy  lubricant. 

Impetus  was  given  the  growing  of  peanuts  by  the  ravages 
of  the  boll  weevil  in  the  lower  sections  of  the  cotton  belt. 
Technically,  the  peanut  is  known  as  the  ground  nut,  as  it 
grows  in  the  ground  on  the  root  of  a  small  vine.  There  are 
many  varieties  of  peanuts,  the  best  for  oil  production  being 
the  Spanish  variety.  The  nut  was  grown  by  the  aborigines 
of  the  Western  World,  it  probably  being  a  native  of  Brazil, 
and  was  introduced  to  Europe  by  early  explorers. 

98 


Copyright  l>y  I'nderwood  &  l"n<lerwood,  X.  Y. 


THE  WAY  COCOAM'TS  GROW 


Cocoanvi  oil  in  an  important  import.  The  ml  expressed  from 
flic  irhite  meat  of  the  cocoa  nut  ix  employed  in  lard  and  butter 
substitute*  and  in  soaps.  The  quantities  consumed  demand  tank 
car  transportation. 


^.g^'^flfl 


When  the  boll  weevil  pest  had  reduced  the  cotton  crop  in 
certain  sections  to  the  point  where  the  local  oil  mills  were 
without  cotton  seed  as  a  raw  material,  it  was  found  that 
peanuts  were  a  good  substitute  crop,  both  for  the  farmer  and 
the  millman.  Not  only  is  the  oil  valuable,  but  the  hay  and 
press  cake  make  highly  desirable  cattle  feeds. 

Many  cotton  oil  mills  have  been  adjusted  to  manufacture 
peanut  oils,  but  the  better  qualities  of  the  oil  are  produced 
by  specially  designed  machinery.  A  partial  pressing  gives 
a  clear  nutty  flavored  oil  that  is  suitable  for  table  purposes 
without  refining. 

The  best  oil  is  secured  from  shelled  peanuts  but  much  of 
it  is  made  by  pressing  shells  and  all. 

It  goes  into  butter  and  lard  substitutes,  and  the  cheaper 
qualities  are  used  in  the  manufacture  of  soap. 


99 


CHAPTER    XXII 


Soya  Bean  Oil 


A  New  Product  for  America  that  is  Useful  in 

Manufacturing  Foodstuffs  and  as  a 

Substitute  for  Linseed  Oil 


HERE  is  much  similarity  in  the  production  of  soya 
bean  oil  to  the  method  employed  for  cotton  seed 
and  linseed  oils.  A  distinction  is  that  while  the 
bean  has  been  cultivated  in  Asia  for  5,000  years,  it  is  only 
within  the  last  decade  that  it  has  become  a  crop  of  impor- 
tance in  the  United  States. 

The  vegetable  oil  business  in  general  received  a  great 
impetus  from  the  war.  Prior  to  then  the  great  bulk  of  this 
business  was  in  linseed  and  cotton  seed  oils.  The  new 
demands  brought  great  importations,  and  among  them  the 
greatest  quantity  was  of  soya  bean  oil  from  Manchuria.  It 
is  not  an  uncommon  sight  now  to  see  whole  trains  of  tank 
cars  loaded  with  soya  bean  oil  leaving  Seattle,  Washington, 
which  is  the  chief  port  for  oil  imports. 

The  bean  has  developed  into  a  big  crop  in  parts  of  the 
cotton  and  corn  belts,  for  forage  as  well  as  for  oil.  It  is 
easily  grown  in  a  large  part  of  the  United  States,  its  general 


100 


>•  a  ~.   ~ 

11  r? 


. 

a        2  A.    ^ 


§.s-?r  ^ 

£lle<  ^ 

Cs-'1'  2'  "t 

llrss 


s  ? 


Copyright  by  Underwood  &  Underwood,  N*  Y. 


''.LIQUID  TRANSPORTATION  IN  ARABIA 


e'  Bedouin  women  are  shown  in  the  service  of  their  tribe 
which  tank  cars  perform  for  more  advanced  peoples;  they  are 
carrying  water  in  goat  skin*. 


adaptations  being  about  the  same  as  corn.  It  has  a  large 
yield  of  seed  and  a  fine  quality  of  foliage,  and  is  free  from 
insect  enemies  and  plant  disease.  The  beans  are  largely 
used  by  Asiatic  people  for  food,  being  very  rich  in  protein. 
Owing  to  the  strength  of  the  meal,  it  has  been  found  best 
to  mix  it  with  some  less  concentrated  food  before  feeding 
to  cattle  or  farm  animals. 

In  the  extraction  of  the  oil,  a  cake  is  left  which  is  ground 
into  soya  bean  meal. 

The  oil  is  used  by  soap  makers,  by  some  oleomargarine 
manufacturers,  sometimes  for  lubricating  purposes,  and 
recently  it  has  been  discovered  to  be  a  fair  substitute  for  lin- 
seed oil  in  the  manufacture  of  paint. 


101 


CHAPTER    XXIII 


Olive  Oil 


Its  Long  History  and  the  Reasons  for  its 
Great  Value 

OIL  stands  today  as  it  has  through  the  ages 
since  the  glory  of  Greece  and  the  grandeur  of 
Rome  —  one  of  the  earth's  luxuries.  The  olive 
branch  won  its  place  as  the  emblem  of  peace  because  of  the 
value  of  the  oil  and  the  necessity,  among  ancient  nations,  of 
victory  before  the  oil  could  be  secured  from  the  groves  of 
people  and  conveyed  to  the  seats  of  the  mighty.  The  ancient 
Greek  warriors  anointed  themselves  with  it  after  the  bath, 
and  a  proverb  of  luxury  and  happiness  among  the  Romans 
was,  "wine  within  and  oil  without." 

The  fruit,  too,  was  appreciated  in  ancient  times,  both  ripe 
pickled  olives  and  the  green  ones,  steeped  in  brine.  In  the 
ruins  of  Pompeii,  preserved  olives  have  been  found. 

Around  the  Mediterranean  coast  the  olive  tree  grows  wild, 
but  the  value  of  its  fruit  and  oil  long  since  has  resulted 
in  an  extensive  cultivation  of  it.  Italy  holds  first  place  in 
production,  though  from  the  time  of  the  earliest  settlers 
groves  were  planted  in  many  South  American  countries,  in 

102 


Copyright  by  Underwood  &  Underwood,  N.  Y. 


JERUSALEM  AND  THE  MOUNT  OF  OLIVES 

The  age-old  fame  of  olive  oil  is  evidenced  by  its  manufacture  from 
tk  trees  of  the  Mount  of  Olives  in  the  days  of  the  Bible.  Scien- 
ti  ts  say  there  are  trees  in  the  Holy  Land  that  have  been  bearing 
fruit  since  the  Roman  Empire. 


WPPLYIXa  LIQl'IDS  I\  PALKSTIXK 

Here  again  the  nneront  irork  of  liquid  tran.f/xtrldtion  fall*  HJMIH 
the  iromen,  earthen  rexxelx  deinij  tin'  receptacles  employed. 


•••••••••MMMMM 


California,  Florida  and  other  Southern  States.  However, 
the  supply  of  both  the  fruit  and  the  oil  still  is  largely 
imported. 

The  wild  trees  are  scraggy.  The  cultivated  plants  are 
among  the  longest  lived  of  trees.  It  is  claimed  in  Italy  that 
some  of  the  trees  date  back  to  the  Roman  Empire.  The 
cultivated  trees  grow  considerably  larger  than  the  wild  ones, 
the  trunks  of  the  old  trees  attaining  considerable  diameter, 
but  they  rarely  grow  over  thirty  feet  in  height  . 

Olive  oil  is  the  most  popular  of  the  edible  oils.  It  is 
employed  in  making  fine  soaps,  articles  of  toilets,  in  butter 
substitutes,  and  for  many  other  purposes. 


103 


CHAPTER     XXIV 


Whale  Oil 


Methods  of  Whale  Fishing  and  Uses  of  the  Oil; 

Other  Fish  Oils 

HALE  OIL  is  obtained  from  the  blubber,  the  fat 
beneath  the  skin  of  the  whale,  and,  therefore,  the 
industry  begins  with  whale  fishing. 

Whale  fishing  has  a  history  that  dates  back  more  than  a 
thousand  years.  All  modern  maritime  nations  have  had 
their  whale  fishing.  It  is  probable  that  men  first  discovered 
the  value  of  this  great  sea  animal  from  stranded  individuals. 
Just  when  they  took  to  the  sea  for  them  is  not  known. 

Oil  is  not  the  only  valuable  commodity  taken  from  the 
whale;  whalebone  brings  good  returns,  and  sometimes 
ambergris,  a  most  valuable  substance  for  the  manufacture  of 
perfumes,  is  found  in  the  sperm  whale.  The  oil  of  the  sperm 
whale,  taken  from  its  head,  is  the  best  of  the  whale  oils.  It 
varies  in  color  from  a  bright  honey-yellow  to  a  dark  brown. 
When  refined  it  is  an  excellent  lubricant  for  small  and  deli- 
cate machinery.  In  times  past,  the  flesh  of  the  whale  has 
been  thrown  away  to  rot,  but  that  isn't  done  any  more.  Parts 
of  it  are  good  as  a  food  and  the  rest  is  ground  up  and  used 
in  fertilizers.  The  teeth  are  used  as  ivory. 


104 


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There  are  a  number  of  varieties  of  whales  and  they  inhabit 
many  waters,  from  the  warm  waters  of  the  south  to  the  icy 
coasts  of  Greenland.  The  principal  centers  of  the  whaling 
industry  in  America  are  New  Bedford,  on  the  east  coast, 
and  San  Francisco,  on  the  west  coast. 

Around  Greenland,  the  fishing  still  is  done  with  the  old- 
fashioned  harpoon.  When  the  whale  is  sighted  it  is  shot 
with  a  harpoon  from  a  cannon.  The  harpoon  is  attached 
to  the  boat  with  a  strong  rope.  Then  small  harpoons  are 
hurled  into  the  whale  by  hand. 

Where  the  industry  is  more  developed,  the  harpoon  has 
an  explosive  cap  with  a  time  fuse  in  its  head,  and  the  explo- 
sion takes  place  inside  the  whale.  The  ships  employed  vary 
from  small  sailing  craft  to  steamboats.  Usually  the  whale 
is  towed  to  land  before  it  is  cut  up  for  its  valuable  parts. 

The  fat  is  cut  out  and  the  oil  then  expressed  and  refined. 
But  no  matter  how  the  oil  is  handled,  it  always  retains  an 
unpleasant  fishy  smell.  It  is  very  difficult  to  get  the  smell 
out  of  tank  cars,  once  they  have  been  filled  with  the  oil,  and 
prevent  them  contaminating  other  liquids  that  might  be 
transported.  The  best  plan  is  to  use  the  cars  exclusively  in 
the  fish  oil  trade. 

Fish  oil  proper  is  less  valuable  than  whale  oil  and  some- 
times is  used  to  adulterate  it.  Its  principal  source  is  the 
menhaden  fish,  a  small  fish  that  appears  in  great  schools 
along  the  northeastern  coast  of  America,  and  is  caught  in 
quantities  for  its  oil  and  the  use  of  the  meat  in  fertilizers. 
Menhaden  oil  also  is  used  to  adulterate  linseed  oil  or  as  a 


105 


substitute  for  it.    To  extract  the  oil,  the  whole  fish  is  boiled 
in  water  and  the  oil  then  is  pressed  out. 

Other  minor  sources  of  fish  oils  are  cod-liver,  shark-liver, 
porpoise  and  blackfish  blubber. 

The  uses  of  the  whale  and  fish  oils  are  in  oiling  wool 
for  combing,  in  batching  flax  and  other  vegetable  fibres,  in 
currying  and  chamois  leather  making,  and  as  a  lubricant 
for  machinery. 


106 


Copyright  by  Underwot 


PREPARING  GOAT  SKINS  FOR  WATER 
TRANSPORTATION 

The  importance  of  liquid  transportation  all  over  the  earth  is 
evidenced  by  this  extensive  effort  to  ttiipply  rexitelif  for  carrying 
water  in  the  Holy  Land. 


Copyright  by  Brown  Bros.,  N.  Y. 


MAKING  SOAP 

Thitt  illustration,  and  two  succeeding  ones,  picture  three  .tfayex 
in  the  manufacture  of  soap.  The  men  are  mixing  alkalies,  fats 
and  oils — ingredients  of  soap. 


CHAPTER     XXV 


Soap 


The  Use  of  Fats,  Oils  and  Alkalies  in  Making  Soap; 
Different  Kinds  of  Soap 

T  is  evident  to  one  who  has  scanned  these  pages 
that  the  uses  of  various  commodities  handled  in 
tank  cars  overlap.  The  story  of  an  oil  or  an  acid 
is  not  a  distinct  thing  that  stands  separate  and  apart.  The 
functions  usually  are  performed  in  conjunction  with  some 
other  liquid,  also  handled  in  tank  cars.  The  most  striking 
illustration  of  this  perhaps  is  in  the  manufacture  of  soap. 
The  principal  raw  materials  required  for  soap  are  fats ;  but 
these  fats  may  be  from  animal  matter  or  Vegetable  oils, 
embracing  the  range  of  most  animal  and  vegetable  oils 
handled  in  tank  cars,  as  follows: 

Oils  from  the  by-product  fats  of  packing  houses,  castor 
oil,  cotton  seed  oil,  corn  oil,  linseed  oil,  peanut  and  cocoanut 
oils,  soya  bean  oil  and  olive  oil. 

In  addition,  tank  cars  handle  caustic  soda  and  caustic 
potash,  glycerin,  rosin  and  silicate  of  soda  as  contributions 
to  soap  making. 


107 


You  must  go  far  back  in  history  to  find  the  origin  of  soap, 
but  the  memory  of  living  Americans  antedates  its  present 
intensive  and  extensive  use.  We  know  this  by  a  comparison 
of  the  bathrooms  of  a  modern  home  with  the  toilet  devices 
of  an  ante-bellum  mansion,  to  say  nothing  of  historic 
European  castles.  Yet  the  soap  industry  is  far  bigger  than 
the  supplying  of  toilet  articles  to  individuals.  Soaps  are 
important  in  textile  manufacturing  and  for  sanitation. 

The  Bible  mentions  soap,  though  it  is  now  considered 
that  the  references  were  to  the  ashes  of  plants  and  similar 
purifying  agents.  According  to  Pliny,  the  Germans 
invented  it,  primarily  to  give  a  brighter  hue  to  the  hair. 
The  Romans  got  it  from  them,  and  its  use  continued  on 
down  through  the  centuries.  But  the  chemistry  of  its  mak- 
ing was  unknown  until  the  early  nineteenth  century,  due 
to  discoveries  by  Chevreul,  a  Frenchman,  and  with  that  a 
new  impetus  was  given  to  the  business. 

The  manufacture  of  soap  is  the  result  of  interaction  of 
fatty  oils  and  fats  with  alkalies.  It  first  was  made  from  goat 
tallow  and  beech  ash,  and  for  a  long  time  it  was  thought 
that  the  product  was  merely  a  physical  compound  of  a  fat 
and  an  alkali.  Chevreul's  discovery  was  of  the  chemical 
action  that  takes  place,  thus  forming  an  entirely  new  matter. 
Fatty  oils  and  fats  are  composed  of  glycerin  and  fatty  acids. 
Treated  with  an  alkali,  usually  under  heat,  the  acid  com- 
bines with  the  alkali,  forming  soap. 

Fats  for  soap  come  from  abattoirs  and  packing  houses, 
one  of  the  chief  sources  being  from  ground  bones. 


108 


Caustic  soda  and  potash  are  the  alkalies  most  generally 
used,  and  they  are  largely  secured  direct  from  alkali  manu- 
facturers. 

But  the  manufacture  of  soap  does  not  end  so  simply.  It 
must  have  other  ingredients  and  considerable  treatment 
before  it  is  fit  for  commercial  use.  The  various  kinds 
depend  upon  the  raw  materials  used  and  the  methods  of 
manufacture. 

The  hard  yellow  and  primrose  soaps  are  made  from  beef 
and  sheep  tallow,  with  rosin  added.  Cheaper  mottled  and 
brown  soaps  have  for  their  base  bone  fat.  Lard  oil  is  applied 
to  hard  toilet  soaps.  Dyers  of  silk  and  cotton  fabrics  use 
soaps  from  vegetable  oils,  while  fuller's  fat  is  the  material 
from  which  soft  soap  comes. 

Usually  mixed  oils  are  used.  Cocoanut  and  castor  oil  will 
react  on  the  alkali  and  make  a  soap  without  heating.  Castor 
oil  will  yield  a  transparent  soap.  Cocoanut  oil  is  used  for 
certain  hair  washes.  Either,  however,  is  better  employed 
when  combined  with  cotton  seed  oil,  fat  oil  or  some  other 
oil.  Crude  palm  oil,  with  bone  fat,  produces  a  brown  soap. 
The  curd  soaps  are  made  by  boiling  the  fat  with  alkali  and 
removing  the  excess  alkali.  In  using  olive  oil,  in  this 
method,  the  French  originated  Castile  soap.  Palm  oil  is  a 
favorite  for  soap  in  England.  We  have  a  famous  toilet  soap 
in  this  country  produced  from  a  combination  of  palm  and 
olive  oils. 

Ordinary  soap,  you  know,  is  of  no  service  with  salt  water. 
That  is  because  it  is  insoluble  in  salt  water,  its  precipitation 

109 


in  its  process  of  manufacture  having  been  caused  by  the 
addition  of  common  salt.  Certain  soaps  are  soluble  in  brine, 
and  for  this  reason  they  are  known  as  marine  soaps.  Cocoa- 
nut  oil  soap  is  typical  of  marine  soaps. 

The  odor  of  soaps  may  be  regulated  by  the  addition  of 
perfumes  to  the  soapy  mass.  It  is  desirable  that  the  goods 
contain  a  large  proportion  of  water  and  yet  remain  solid 
and  firm.  This  is  aided  by  the  addition  of  a  strong  solution 
of  silicate  of  soda,  which  also  adds  something  to  the  cleans- 
ing power  of  the  soap. 

Soap  can  be  cut  out  or  moulded  in  any  size  or  shape, 
according  to  the  wishes  of  the  manufacturer.  It  can  be 
made  to  float  by  aeration,  that  is,  mixing  air  with  the  hot 
liquid  soap.  Transparent  soap  is  made  by  dissolving  ordi- 
nary soap  in  alcohol  and  then  distilling  off  most  of  the 
alcohol. 

Some  of  the  most  popular  soaps  are  glycerin  soaps. 
They  are  obtained  by  the  addition  of  glycerin  to  pure  hard 
soap.  The  soap  is  melted  and  the  glycerin  poured  in  and 
stirred.  When  the  compound  is  poured  into  forms  and 
cooled,  it  forms  a  transparent  mass.  An  excess  of  glycerin 
makes  a  fluid  soap.  A  small  proportion  produces  a  tenacious 
lather,  a  trick  that  many  a  child  has  been  taught  when  blow- 
ing soap  bubbles.  This  quality  makes  glycerin  valuable  in 
shaving  soaps. 

Authorities  are  not  wholly  agreed  as  to  the  causes  of  the 
cleansing  power  of  soap.  The  most  generally  accepted 
theory  is  that  of  its  emulsifying  power  on  oil  and  its  property 


no 


Copyright  by  Brown  Bros.,  N.  V. 


HANDLING  CRUDE  SOAP 

A  more  advanced  step  in  it*  manufacture.     The  grinding  process 
preparatory  fo  molding  into 


Copyright  t>y  Brown  Bros.,  \.  V. 


PROI)l'('L\G  THE  KATII-ROOM  ARTICLE 

The  hint  step  in  xoap  manufacture  ron.ti.vtts  of  molding  <nid 
stamping.  The  xniall  muchinc  in  the  background  accomplishes 
the  feat  of  transforming  tunull  cylinderx  of  .toap  into  oral  cakes, 
i'nc/1  <ix  iililce  un  pea.*  in  a  ixxL 


of  penetrating  oily  fabrics  and  lubricating  impurities  so  that 
they  can  be  washed  away. 

Fats  are  loaded  in  tank  cars  and  unloaded  out  of  them  in 
a  liquid  state.  The  tanks  are  coiled,  for  although  the  fats 
congeal  in  transit,  the  mass  can  be  melted  and  easily  un- 
loaded. 

Liquid  soap  is  also  shipped  in  tank  cars. 


111 


CHAPTER     XXVI 


Lard 


A  Great  Food  Product  from  Hogs 

ARD  is  made  from  hog  fat.  Neutral  or  leaf  lard 
is  secured  from  the  leafy  fat  around  the  bowels 
and  kidneys.  A  poorer  quality  is  made  from  back 
fats.  The  neutral  lard  is  used  in  great  quantities  in  the 
manufacture  of  oleomargarine.  The  back  fat  lard  is  em- 
ployed in  cooking. 

Lard  manufacture  is  conducted  on  a  huge  scale  by  the 
big  packing  houses.  The  fat  is  taken  from  freshly  killed 
hogs  and  hung  up  in  refrigerators,  to  remove  as  soon  as 
possible  the  animal  heat.  It  is  then  cut  into  small  bits,  or 
pulverized  by  machines,  and  boiled.  After  the  boiling,  the 
fibre  substance  is  precipitated  by  the  addition  of  salt,  and 
it  gradually  settles.  The  pure  lard  is  then  syphoned  off. 

Neutral  lard  frequently  is  adulterated,  compound  lard 
even  being  made  without  any  of  it,  as  described  under  "Cot- 
ton Seed  Oil."  The  best  compounds,  however,  contain  some 
hog  lard.  Favorite  adulterants  are  beef  and  mutton  stearine. 

In  the  manufacture  of  oleomargarine,  it  is  combined  with 
oleo-oil,  some  vegetable  oil,  milk,  salt  and  coloring.  Some- 


112 


times  a  portion  of  real  butter  is  added.  The  mixture  is 
handled  through  several  heating  and  cooling  processes  and 
finally  churned  into  oleomargarine. 

In  color,  lard  is  white  and  of  a  butter-like  consistency. 
It  easily  is  reduced  to  a  liquid  state  by  heat.  To  be  loaded 
in  tank  cars  it  must  be  in  a  liquid  state,  and  the  cars  are 
equipped  with  steam  coils  so  that  the  lard  can  be  heated  to 
be  unloaded. 


113 


CHAPTER    XXVII 


Lard  Oil 


A  Valuable  Oil  Expressed  from  Lard 

ARD  OIL  is  expressed  from  lard  by  slight  heat  and 
hydraulic  pressure.  It  is  a  clear  and  colorless 
liquid  and  is  suitable  for  burning  oil  and  for  lubri- 
cation. It  is  applied  in  the  finishing  processes  in  manu- 
facturing silk  and  cotton  goods. 

The  expression  of  lard  oil  leaves  lard  stearine.  The  best 
qualities  of  stearine  are  consumed  in  oleomargarine  and  the 
cheaper  products  are  used  in  making  candles  and  soap. 

The  tank  cars  used  to  carry  lard  oil  need  not  be  coiled  but 
they  must  be  thoroughly  clean. 


114 


Copyright  by  Underwood  &  Underwood,  N.  Y. 


LARD  FOR  LARD  OIL 

Lard  oil  is  expressed  from  lard  and  is  used  as  a  burning  and 
lubrication  oil  and  in  the  manufacture  of  silk  and  cotton  goods. 


£  £3  s  *- 
•a  &••••-  * 


&     X-    V    *9 

•&-s  «  2s  =»  t 


O    S 


§  j3;^: 

-It  If' 


CHAPTER     XXVIII 


Glycerin 


The  Source  of  Glycerin  and  its  Application  in 
Medicine  and  Manufacturing 

LYCERIN  is  a  viscid,  colorless  liquid,  one  of  the 
very  valuable  components  of  fats.  It  is  obtained 
by  the  action  of  alkalies  on  fats,  most  fatty  sub- 
stances possessing  it.  It  can  not  be  distilled  by  itself  without 
decomposition,  but  is  readily  volatilized  in  a  current  of 
superheated  steam.  It  is  produced,  to  a  small  extent,  as  a 
by-product  of  packing  houses  but  is  secured  more  largely 
from  the  spent  lyes  of  soap  manufacturers. 

Glycerin  has  many  valuable  qualities.  It  will  act  as  a 
solvent  on  many  coloring  fluids  that  will  not  dissolve  in 
water  alone.  It  is  an  antiseptic  as  well  as  a  solvent.  It  is  a 
fine  lubricant  for  clockwork,  watches  and  so  forth,  and  is 
employed  for  a  number  of  purposes  in  the  arts.  It  does  not 
evaporate  nor  turn  rancid,  which,  together  with  its  excel- 
lent solvent  power  for  iodine  and  similar  drugs,  gives  it  a 
wide  use  in  medicine.  Mixed  with  salicylic  acid,  it  is 
employed  to  preserve  eggs.  Its  most  commonly  known  use, 
perhaps,  is  in  the  composition  of  nitroglycerin,  yet  this  is 
only  one  of  an  extensive  number  of  chemical  products  in 
which  it  is  employed. 

Much  of  this  country's  supply  is  imported.  Its  shipment 
is  very  carefully  done  because  of  its  high  value.  Most  of  it 
is  shipped  in  drums  to  the  refiners  and  then  put  up  in  bottles 
and  other  small  containers. 


115 


CHAPTER    XXIX 


Silicate  of  Soda 


Its  Use  in  Soap  and  for  Preserving  Eggs 

ILICATE  OF  SODA  is  a  chemical  salt,  having  as 
its  base  silica  and  the  metal  sodium.  It  is  impor- 
tant in  nature  as  the  commonest  material  for  the 
forming  of  rock  and  other  minerals.  Also  it  is  the  greatest 
source  of  sodium,  which  has  an  extensive  use  in  organic 
chemistry.  The  compound  is  valuable  in  the  manufacture 
of  soap,  but  its  part  in  this  industry  has  been  noted  under 
"Soap." 

Silicate  of  soda  is  the  chief  component  of  many  egg  pre- 
servers that  have  a  ready  sale  with  housewives.  A  simple 
illustration  of  its  use  is  as  follows :  Immerse  the  eggs  in  a 
solution  of  water  and  silicate  of  soda  for  about  three 
minutes.  Have  a  rack  prepared  on  which  to  stand  the  eggs 
on  end.  The  air  causes  an  interaction  between  the  lime  in 
the  egg  shells  and  the  silicate  of  soda  that  forms  a  glassy 
and  airtight  sheet  around  each  egg.  The  eggs  then  may  be 
shipped  or  kept  for  months  without  spoiling.  This  use 
causes  silicate  of  soda  to  be  popularly  known  as  "water 
glass/' 

Silicate  of  soda  is  widely  scattered  over  the  earth's  sur- 
face in  the  form  of  rock  crust.  When  shipped  in  tank  cars 
it  is  in  solution  in  water. 

116 


Copyright  hy  Underwood  &  I'nderwooil,  N.  V. 


PACKING  SALT  FISH 

Tank  cars  aid  this  industry  by  supplying  calcium  chloride  brine 
in  irfiic/i  the  ft. tli  arc  pre.terrfd. 


CHAPTER     XXX 


Calcium  Chloride  Brine 


A  Salt  Solution  Used  in  Preserving  Fish,  Meats 

and  Vegetables 

ALCIUM  CHLORIDE  BRINE  is  the  salt,  cal- 
cium chloride,  in  solution  in  water.  Calcium 
chloride  is  found  in  many  natural  waters  and  is  a 

by-product  of  the  manufacture  of  carbonic  acid  and  of 

potassium  chlorate. 

It  is  a  source  of  both  the  metal  calcium  and  the  gas 
chlorine.  The  salt  is  very  soluble  in  water  and  therefore 
is  handled  readily  as  a  brine. 

It  is  employed  as  a  desiccating  agent  in  preserving  fish 
and  meats  and  all  sorts  of  vegetable  and  animal  matter.  In 
dissolving  rapidly  in  water  the  salt  absorbs  considerable 
heat.  This  property  makes  it  useful  in  forming  freezing 
mixtures,  on  the  principle  of  refrigeration. 

Calcium  chloride  brine  is  easily  shipped  in  Standard 
Tank  Cars. 


117 


CHAPTER     XXXI 


Oxalic  Acid 


An  Acid  Used  in  Dyeing  and  Printing 

Textiles 

XALIC  ACID  is  another  illustration  of  the  vast 
possibilities  of  chemistry.  In  reality  it  is  an  acid 
of  oxygen,  oxygen  being  its  chief  element.  It  is 
used  in  the  dyeing  and  printing  of  wool  and  other  textiles,  to 
bleach  straw  and  to  remove  rust  stains  from  glycerin  and 
stearine  and  to  polish  brass.  A  number  of  its  salts — potas- 
sium oxalate,  sodium  oxalate  and  ammonia  oxalate — are 
produced  for  use  as  a  substitute  for  the  acid.  Potassium 
ferrous  oxalate  is  a  good  photographic  developer. 

It  is  one  of  the  oldest  known  acids  and  is  found  in  many 
plants,  especially  wood-sorrel,  as  acid  potassium  salt.  By 
the  oxidation  of  sugar,  starch,  cellulose  and  similar  com- 
pounds with  nitric  acid,  it  may  be  formed,  but  its  manufac- 
ture is  largely  performed  by  fusing  oxygen-holding  com- 
pounds with  caustic  soda  and  caustic  potash.  The  best 
material  for  the  latter  process  is  the  sawdust  of  soft  wood. 
A  stiff  paste  is  made  with  the  caustic  alkalies  and  it  is  heated 
in  flat  iron  pans.  A  little  warm  water  is  added  to  remove 
the  excess  alkali,  and  the  mass  is  then  boiled  with  slaked 


118 


lime,  forming  insoluble  calcium  oxalate.  This  compound 
is  in  turn  decomposed,  and  the  oxalic  acid  produced  by  a 
treatment  with  sulphuric  acid. 

The  acid  crystallizes  and  looks  very  much  like  Epsom 
salts,  but  it  is  very  poisonous  and  has  resulted  fatally  when 
taken  by  mistake.  The  crystals  effloresce  in  the  air  and  are 
readily  soluble  in  water.  Its  tank  car  shipments  are  in  solu- 
tion in  water. 


119 


CHAPTER     XXXII 


Carbon  Bisulphide 


An  Important  Industrial  Solvent 

ARBON  BISULPHIDE  is  a  clear,  pleasant  smell- 
ing liquid  that  is  very  volatile,  and  gives  off  an 
inflammable  vapor.  It  is  insoluble  in  water,  but 
easily  dissolves  in  alcohol,  benzol  or  ether  and  various  oils. 
In  turn  it  is  a  solvent  for  sulphur,  phosphorus,  wax,  iodine 
and  many  substances.  Its  reactions  may  be  extensively 
employed  in  organic  chemistry.  Industrially,  it  is  used  as 
a  solvent  for  caoutchouc,  the  gum  of  India  rubber  and  of 
similar  tropical  trees,  for  the  extraction  of  essential  oils,  as 
a  germicide,  and  as  an  insecticide. 

It  can  be  conveniently  prepared,  because  of  the  abun- 
dance in  nature  of  the  elements  which  form  it,  in  carbon 
compounds,  sulphur  and  pyrites — sulphur  ores.  The  heat- 
ing of  charcoal  and  pyrites  gives  off  a  vapor  that  is  con- 
densed into  the  liquid.  It  can  be  made  easier  by  passing 
sulphur  fumes  over  red  hot  charcoal,  the  gas  formed  being 
condensed  into  the  liquid. 

However,  the  liquid  produced  by  both  these  simple 
methods  is  very  impure  and  has  an  offensive  smell.  It  may 


120 


Copyright  by  Publishers'  Photo  Service. 


BLEEDING  A  RUBBER  TREE  IN  SOUTH 
AMERICA 

The  manufacture  of  rubber  into  tires  and  an  infinite  variety 
of  articles  is  one  of  the  great  outstanding  industries  of  the 
world.  In  the  preparation  of  rubber,  tank  cars  handle  carbon 
bisulphide,  a  solvent  for  the  gum  of  rubber  trees. 


Copyright  by  Urtd<i%ooJ  J^UrtJe'rwotxl,  N.  V.    ' 


JWW  A   TRANSPORTATION  PHOHLKM  H'.l.s  MKT 
IN  EAST  AFRICA 

Liquid  (i/id  xolitl  frciyht  bcintj  moral  by  women  in  chains. 


be  purified  by  a  thorough  washing  with  lime  water,  the  lime 
water  being  sprayed  through  the  liquid  until  it  escapes  per- 
fectly clear.  The  washed  liquid  is  then  mixed  with  a  color- 
less oil  and  distilled  at  a  low  temperature.  There  are  two 
intermediate  steps  in  preparing  it  with  charcoal  and  sul- 
phur. The  uncondensed  gas  is  passed  through  a  tower 
where  there  is  a  flowing  vegetable  oil  that  absorbs  any  car- 
bon bisulphide  oil,  and  then  into  a  second  tower  contain- 
ing lime,  which  absorbs  any  sulphureted  hydrogen. 


121 


CHAPTER    XXXIII 


Zinc  Chloride 


Another  Useful  Solvent 

INC  CHLORIDE  is  produced  by  heating  zinc 
in  chloride  gas,  or  by  the  action  of  hydrochloric 
acid  on  the  metal.  In  the  first  instance,  it  distills 
as  a  white  translucent  mass  which  dissolves  in  a  fraction  of 
its  weight  in  cold  water.  The  product  of  the  second  method 
can  not  be  evaporated  to  dryness  without  considerable  diffi- 
culty. 

In  organic  chemistry,  it  is  used  as  a  condensing  agent.  It 
will  convert  starch  cellulose  and  many  other  organic  bodies 
into  soluble  compounds.  Its  compounds  are  used  in  dentis- 
try, surgery,  and  in  the  manufacture  of  paint  and  high  grade 
cement. 

Dissolved  in  water,  zinc  chloride  forms  a  syrupy  solution. 


122 


CHAPTER    XXXIV 


Arsenic  Solution 


Employed  to  Kill  Weeds  on  Railroad  Roadbeds 

RSENIC,  a  steel-gray,  brittle  and  volatile  sub- 
stance, is  well  known  through  its  employment  in 
drugs.  It  is  a  chemical  element  classified  as  a 
metalloid,  since  it  has  qualities  of  both  the  metals  and  the 
non-metals.  It  is  found  in  nature  in  combinations  with  sul- 
phur, as  a  sulphide.  The  production  of  arsenic  and  arsenic 
compounds  is  through  complicated  chemical  processes,  but 
a  point  of  interest  to  anyone  about  certain  of  the  com- 
pounds is  their  quality  of  spontaneous  inflammability  in  air 
at  ordinary  temperature. 

Arsenic  is  highly  poisonous,  but  it  is  combined  with  other 
chemicals  so  that  its  curative  powers  are  preserved  and  its 
toxic  attribute  minimized.  It  has  a  wide  use  in  medicine, 
one  in  particular  being  in  the  treatment  of  syphilis. 

The  tank  car  is  used  to  handle  an  arsenic  solution  to  kill 
weeds  and  vegetable  growths  along  railroad  beds  and  roads. 


123 


CHAPTER     XXXV 


Lactic  Acid 


An  Agent  in  Dyeing,  and  in  the  Chrome  Process 

of  Tanning  Leather 

OMMERCIAL  lactic  acid  is  obtained  from  milk 
from  which  the  butter  has  been  removed.  There 
are  many  ways  of  producing  it,  since  it  is  a  result 
of  a  process  of  fermentation,  certain  bacteria  acting  on  the 
sugar  to  form  it.  In  making  it  from  milk,  the  whey  is  put 
in  wooden  vessels  and  a  process  of  fermentation  allowed  to 
take  place,  either  by  its  own  volition  or  by  the  addition  of 
putrefied  cheese.  Powdered  chalk  is  added  to  neutralize 
the  acid,  and  the  fermentation  is  continued  for  from  ten  to 
twelve  days.  Calcium  lactate  is  thus  formed  and  then 
decomposed  by  diluted  sulphuric  acid. 

The  calcium  sulphate  produced  by  the  action  of  the  sul- 
phuric acid  is  removed  by  a  filter  press,  leaving  lactic  acid. 
The  acid  is  dissolved  in  water  to  a  concentration  of  about 
fifty  per  cent  for  commercial  use. 

Wool  and  silk  which  are  to  be  dyed  with  fast  colors  are 
treated  with  it.  It  is  employed  in  the  chrome  process  of 
leather  tanning,  its  property  in  this  industry  being  to  hold 
the  calcium  salts  in  solution  and  prevent  the  formation  of 
harmful  deposits.  In  medicine  it  is  employed  for  soluble 
lactates.  In  appearance  it  is  a  yellowish-brown  liquid. 


124 


Copyright  by  Underwood  &  Underwood,  X.  Y 


DYEING  SILK 

Modern  dyeing   requires    highly    refined  chemical    processes. 

Cows'  milk  is  drawn  on  for  one  element,  lactic  acid — to  treat 
wool  and  silk  that  are  to  be  dyed. 


CHAPTER    XXXVI 


Molasses 


How  it  is  Made  as  a  By-Product  of  Sugar 

Refining 

GLASSES,  like  commercial  sugar,  has  two  great 
natural  sources  —  sugar-cane  and  the  sugar  beet. 

Much  of  it  also  comes  from  the  sorghum  plant, 

which,  because  of  the  quantities  of  gums  and  dextrin 
it  contains,  is  unsuitable  for  sugar.  This  is  the  cane  that  is 
grown  in  the  more  temperate  climates,  much  of  it  being 
ground  up  for  stock  feed.  Quantities  of  molasses  are  pro- 
duced as  a  by-product  of  sugar  refining,  both  from  sugar- 
cane and  sugar  beets. 

The  real  sugar-cane  requires  a  hot  and  moist  climate.  The 
principal  area  for  its  cultivation  in  America  is  in  Louisiana. 
The  larger  quantities  of  the  crude  sugar  for  the  refineries 
is  imported  from  warmer  climates. 

Sugar  beets  are  more  adaptable  to  the  temperate  climates. 
America  has  a  considerable  production,  but  in  Europe, 
especially  Germany  and  France,  they  are  a  great  crop. 

The  manufacture  of  molasses  includes  the  whole  process 
of  sugar  refining.  In  the  case  of  sorghum,  the  cane  is 


125 


stripped  of  its  leaves  and  seed  and  ground  in  mills  that 
express  the  juice. 

The  syrup  is  then  cooked  in  large  pans  in  the  open  and 
impurities  rise  to  the  top  as  a  scum  and  are  removed.  It 
must  not  be  cooked  too  long,  else  the  sugar  will  begin  to 
crystallize.  After  the  cooking,  the  molasses  that  it  forms 
is  stored  for  market. 

In  the  preparation  of  sugar  the  juice  is  expressed  from 
sugar-cane  in  much  the  same  way.  It  is  then  strained  through 
wire  screens  to  remove  bits  of  cane  and  other  foreign  bodies. 
The  juice  contains  acids  and  other  parts  that  are  susceptible 
to  rapid  fermentation  and  must  be  immediately  removed  by 
defecation,  which  is  a  treatment  with  milk  of  lime.  The 
lime,  aided  by  heat,  coagulates  the  albumen,  and  the  gummy 
and  other  undesirable  matters  which  rise  to  the  surface  as 
a  scum  are  taken  off.  The  juice  is  then  run  through  a  filter 
press. 

Evaporation  is  then  undertaken,  which  essentially,  is  boil- 
ing down  the  syrup  until  the  sugar  begins  to  crystallize. 
An  old  method  of  separating  the  molasses  from  the  sugar 
was  simply  to  store  the  syrup  in  hogsheads  and  allow  the 
molasses  to  drip  out  through  holes  in  the  end.  This  was  very 
crude  and  has  been  made  obsolete  by  the  introduction  of 
centrifugal  machines. 

The  products  of  the  first  cycle  are  known  as  "first  sugar" 
and  "first  molasses."  The  "first  molasses"  is  put  through  a 
process  like  that  of  the  original  syrup  and  "second  sugar" 
is  obtained. 

126 


4 


The  molasses  left  contains  about  forty  per  cent  of  sugar. 
It  is  used  to  ferment  rum  or  alcohol,  and  much  of  it  is  con- 
sumed in  the  preparation  of  cattle  feeds.  It  has  been  used 
as  a  fuel. 

The  "first  molasses"  may  be  used  as  a  table  syrup,  but  the 
"second"  is  unsuitable. 

Beet  sugar  manufacture  begins  with  washing  the  beets 
in  water  to  remove  the  earth  and  foreign  matters,  and  then 
cutting  them  into  thin  slices  by  a  machine  containing  revolv- 
ing knives.  The  chips  are  soaked  in  water,  in  heated  tanks, 
and  the  juices  containing  the  sugar  thus  dissolved.  Another 
way  is  to  grind  the  beets  to  a  pulp  and  extract  the  juices  by 
hydraulic  presses.  Centrifugal  machines  also  are  used,  with 
beet  pulp  as  the  raw  material. 

The  defecation  and  evaporation  of  the  syrup  is  the  same 
as  already  described. 

Beet  sugar  molasses  is  not  employed  to  make  rum  and 
alcohol.  Its  greatest  value  is  in  the  preparation  of  cattle 
feeds. 

The  sugar  we  have  from  both  materials  is  still  unfit  for 
market.  It  must  be  refined.  In  principle,  the  process  is 
as  simple  as  that  for  obtaining  the  raw  sugar,  but  it  must 
be  much  more  carefully  and  delicately  applied.  The  sugar 
is  put  through  various  washings,  solutions,  filtrations  and 
evaporations  with  water.  The  waters  used  absorb  much 
sugar  and  are  treated  over  again.  Finally  pure  white  sugar 
and  an  edible  syrup  are  obtained.  The  sugar  is  granulated 


127 


by  being  heated  in  revolving  cylinders.  The  heat  dries  it 
thoroughly  and  the  revolutions  of  the  cylinder  prevent  the 
grains  from  sticking  together. 

Molasses  is  a  very  heavy  commodity  and  tends  to  congeal 
from  cold.  It  requires  a  thoroughly  coiled  car  with  a  gate 
valve  at  the  bottom  of  the  outlet  leg.  During  warm  weather, 
tank  cars  are  successfully  used  without  coils,  and  with  only 
a  four-inch  outlet  leg. 


128 


CHAPTER    XXXVII 


Glucose 


The  Base  of  Corn  Syrups  and  of  Many  Preserves, 
Jellies  and  Confections 

LUCOSE,  a  form  of  sugar,  known  as  grape-sugar, 
occurs  in  nature  in  sweet  fruits,  in  honey  and  in 
all  sorts  of  starchy  and  saccharin  matter.  It  may 
be  produced  from  any  of  these  sources,  but  commercial  glu- 
cose in  the  United  States  is  secured  almost  wholly  from  corn. 

Germany  and  other  European  countries  manufacture 
quantities  of  glucose  from  potatoes.  The  industry  has  been 
an  extensive  one  over  there  for  more  than  a  hundred  years, 
and  the  product  was  first  introduced  to  American  manufac- 
turers as  an  import.  Its  increasing  value  within  the  last 
forty  years  has  led  to  the  development  of  the  great  corn 
products  industry  of  the  United  States. 

Time  was  when  the  use  of  glucose  in  food  products  was 
attacked.  The  alleged  grounds  for  the  objections  were  that 
it  was  an  adulterant  with  but  little  food  value.  That  time 
passed  long  ago.  The  government  has  officially  approved 
it  and  purchased  great  quantities  of  glucose  products  as 
food  for  its  armies  during  the  war.  Authorities  state  that 


129 


glucose  has  a  food  value  of  approximately  seventy  per  cent 
of  an  equal  weight  of  cane  sugar. 

Glucose  is  the  base  of  all  corn  syrups.  Some  corn  syrups 
virtually  are  pure  glucose.  The  syrups  for  table  use  are 
perfected  with  combination  of  pure  cane  sugar,  syrup, 
maple  syrup,  sugar  refiner's  syrup,  sorghum  or  molasses. 
It  also  is  employed  to  sweeten  wines  and  beers.  The  great- 
est quantities  of  glucose,  however,  are  consumed  in  the 
manufacture  of  candies.  Many  candies  recommended  as 
the  most  wholesome  sorts  largely  are  glucose.  In  this  use 
and  in  the  preparation  of  jellies,  preserves  and  confections, 
glucose  is  in  the  form  of  corn  syrup. 

The  manufacture  of  corn  syrup  is  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting as  well  as  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  food  prod- 
ucts industries.  It  consists  in  separating  the  starch  from 
the  other  parts  of  the  grain  of  corn  and  then  converting 
that  starch  into  corn  syrup  or  glucose,  by  means  of  boiling 
in  a  weak  solution  of  muriatic  acid.  After  the  process  of 
converting  the  starch  into  glucose,  the  acid  is  neutralized 
by  the  addition  of  soda  ash.  The  soda  and  acid  form  com- 
mon salt  which  remains  in  solution  as  a  component  of  the 
corn  syrup.  The  syrup  is  then  boiled  down  to  the  con- 
sistency desired.  It  may  be  boiled  to  the  point  where  it 
will  congeal  into  a  solid. 

The  separation  of  the  starch  from  the  other  parts  of  corn 
is  a  long  process  with  water.  The  grains  first  are  steeped 
in  a  weak  solution  of  sulphurous  acid.  Then  by  grindings 
and  allowing  the  mass  to  flow  through  troughs,  the  hull, 


130 


the  germ  portion,  the  gluten  and  the  starch  all  are  isolated. 
The  hulls  and  the  gluten  go  to  make  cattle  feed.  Corn  oil 
is  extracted  from  the  germ  portions  and  a  valuable  meal  for 
cattle  is  left.  The  starch,  still  in  solution  in  water,  is  poured 
into  copper  kettles  and  converted  into  corn  syrup. 

Corn  syrup  is  subject  to  the  same  methods  of  transporta- 
tion as  molasses,  except  that  it  is  easier  to  handle  because 
it  is  lighter.  Virtually  the  entire  supply  of  all  manufac- 
turers of  glucose  products  is  shipped  in  tank  cars. 


131 


CHAPTER     XXXVIII 


Vinegar 


Simple  Methods  of  its  Manufacture  for  the  Table, 

and  the  Importance  of  Acetic 

Acid  in  Industry 

INEGAR,  as  we  use  it  on  our  tables;  has  been  known 
from  the  earliest  times.  It  may  be  made  from  the 
must  of  grapes  or  the  juices  of  many  fruits,  but 
the  best  and  most  largely  produced  variety  is  from  apple 
cider.  Its  manufacture,  like  that  of  wine,  is  a  process  of 
fermentation.  The  difference  is  that  with  vinegar,  after  the 
alcohol  has  formed,  exposure  to  the  air  is  continued  and  the 
alcohol  is  converted  into  acetic  acid. 

Vinegar  is  acetic  acid  in  a  diluted  state,  with  the  coloring 
matter  and  salts  in  the  fruit  juice  dissolved.  Pure  acetic 
acid  may  be  obtained  from  any  of  the  wide  variety  of  vine- 
gars. When  rectified  and  purified,  it  has  a  use  in  industry 
surpassed  by  only  three  other  acids,  sulphuric,  muriatic  and 
nitric. 

In  the  chapter  on  "Alcohol"  is  described  how  acetic  acid 
is  produced  in  the  destructive  distillation  of  wood.  It 
usually  is  produced  commercially  by  the  interaction  of  sul- 
phuric acid  on  acetate  of  lime.  The  sulphuric  acid  and 

132 


ft    S-  S-  »       A- 


& 


. 
s  s  a: 


Courtesy  of  E 


MID 

I'inegar  ?.<  diluted  acetic  acid.  Pure  acetic  acid  is  one  of  the 
moxt  important  of  industrial  acid*  and  is  produced  on  a  large 
scale  by  the  action  of  sulphuric  acid  on  acetate  of  lime.  The  pir- 
ture  shows  lead  condensers  in  irhich  the  raporized  acid  is  reduced 
to  a  liquid  slate. 


acetate  of  lime  are  mixed  in  large  cast  iron  stills  and  heat 
is  supplied  by  means  of  steam  coils.  Exhaust  pumps  pro- 
duce a  vacuum,  and  the  crude  acetic  acid  vaporizes  and  is 
collected  in  lead  condensers.  The  rectifying  and  purifying 
processes  reduce  it  to  a  solid,  a  leafy,  crystalline  mass  with 
a  pungent  odor. 

Probably  the  most  important  use  of  acetic  acid  is  in  the 
corrosion  of  white  lead  in  the  Dutch  process.  It  is  employed 
on  a  large  scale  in  cotton  printing,  bleaching  and  dyeing. 
In  medicine  it  is  applied  as  a  caustic  for  corns,  and,  in  a 
dilute  state,  to  bathe  the  skin  in  fever.  It  also  is  used  to 
prepare  acetone,  as  was  explained  in  an  earlier  chapter. 

The  time-honored  uses  of  vinegar  on  the  table  and  in 
pickling  and  preserving  fruits  and  vegetables  are  well 
known.  The  apple  vinegar  for  these  purposes  is  manufac- 
tured by  two  simple  processes — the  rolling  generator  and 
the  slow  barrel  process.  This  vinegar  is  prepared  to  a  great 
extent  on  the  farm,  where  the  apple  orchards  are  easily 
accessible. 

The  apparatus  for  the  first  process  is  a  barrel  with  a 
slatted  partition  running  lengthwise,  dividing  the  barrel 
into  slightly  unequal  parts.  In  the  smaller  compartment 
beech  shavings,  corn  cobs  or  some  similar  substance, 
thoroughly  saturated  with  good  strong  vinegar,  are  placed. 
On  the  same  side  small  oblique  air-holes  are  bored  in  the 
ends  of  barrel.  The  whole  interior  of  the  barrel  is  thor- 
oughly rinsed  with  good  vinegar.  The  air-holes  are 
plugged  and  the  barrel  about  half  filled  with  apple  cider. 
Several  quarts  of  vinegar  are  added.  The  bunghole  then  is 


133 


closed  and  the  barrel,  which  lies  on  its  side  upon  a  trestle, 
is  turned  over  so  that  the  cider  will  run  into  the  shavings.  It 
then  is  righted,  the  air-holes  unplugged,  and  the  cider 
allowed  to  drip  from  the  shavings.  The  rolling  is  repeated 
several  times  a  day. 

The  slow  barrel  process  is  simpler,  and,  as  its  name  im- 
plies, requires  more  time.  The  cider  is  allowed  to  ferment 
to  the  alcoholic  point  in  wooden  casks,  and  then  it  is  trans- 
ferred to  a  barrel  that  has  been  thoroughly  soaked  with 
strong  vinegar.  The  new  barrel  is  filled  to  within  a  few 
inches  of  the  bunghole  and  a  few  quarts  of  vinegar,  with  a 
little  "mother"  in  it,  are  added.  The  bunghole  is  left  open 
to  admit  air  and  the  content  watched  to  determine  aceti- 
fication.  If  allowed  to  remain  too  long,  the  vinegar  begins 
to  lose  its  strength,  the  acid  in  turn  being  destroyed. 

Vinegar  must  not  be  hauled  in  steel  cars.  It  is  shipped  in 
tank  cars  with  the  tanks  made  of  wood  and  mounted  on 
flat  cars. 


134 


-i    <V 

§  <2_ 


115 


II 


Copyright  by  Underwood  &  Underwood,  N.  Y. 


HARVESTING  GRAPES  IN  CALIFORNIA 

California  developed  a  great  wine  industry.  The  vines  that  pro- 
duce the  famous  wines  of  Europe  have  been  successfully  adapted 
so  that  we  now  can  produce  an  equally  choice  variety  of  domestic 
wines. 


CHAPTER    XXXIX 


Wine 


The  Art  of  Fermenting  Wine  and  a  Description 
of  the  More  Famous  Kinds 


E  need  not  turn  to  prosaic  historical  works  to  learn 
of  the  early  use  of  wine.  Mention  of  it  runs  through 
the  inspired  books  of  the  Bible;  the  finest  gem  of 

pagan  literature  largely  is  devoted  to  praise  of  this  spirit — 

The  Rubaiyat  of  Omar  Khayam. 

The  ancient  Egyptians  and  Greeks  attributed  its  intro- 
duction to  the  gods.  The  Hebrews  ascribed  its  discovery 
to  Noah.  Research  has  developed  that  the  first  knowledge 
of  wine  as  a  pleasing  beverage  probably  came  by  accident, 
through  the  fermentation  of  the  juice  of  bruised  wild  grapes. 
Anyway,  the  making  of  wine  today  virtually  is  the  same  as 
in  prehistoric  times,  though  the  record  of  additions  of  spices 
and  the  like  in  early  times  indicates  that  the  quality  was  not 
so  good  as  it  is  now. 

When  we  speak  of  wine,  we  mean  the  fermented  juice  of 
the  grape.  Other  wines  are  expressed  by  a  prefix  of  the  name 
of  the  fruit  from  which  the  juice  is  extracted.  The  locali- 


135 


ties  of  its  manufacture  always  have  been  determined  by  the 
climate  and  soil  most  conducive  to  the  growth  of  the  grape. 
Quality  and  soil  also  determine  the  quality  of  the  wine,  for 
these  are  the  elements  that  give  the  grapes  their  fragrance 
and  bouquet.  Thus  it  is  that  the  wines  of  Germany,  and 
more  especially  of  France,  long  have  held  their  place  as 
favorites. 

The  greatest  wine  producing  section  of  America  is  in 
California.  There  280,000  acres  are  under  vines,  and  the 
annual  production  is  approximately  30,000,000  gallons. 
The  finest  varieties  of  vines  from  along  the  Rhine  and  from 
Champagne  and  other  provinces  of  France  have  been  trans- 
planted and  developed  and  the  modern  methods  of  conduct- 
ing fermentation  employed  in  California.  New  York  and 
Ohio  follow  in  wine  production,  their  similarity  in  climate 
to  the  best  wine  producing  provinces  of  France  enabling 
them  to  compete  in  champagnes,  clarets,  and  so  forth.  The 
total  annual  output  of  the  United  States  is  something  like 
50,000,000  gallons.  Though  the  figures  of  California's  pro- 
duction show  it  to  be  the  far  greater  proportion,  there  are 
some  75,000  acres  of  land  in  New  York  in  vines,  and  each 
year  approximately  5,000,000  gallons  of  wine  are  made. 

The  process  of  manufacture  is  simple.  The  grapes  are 
gathered  by  hand  and  carried  to  the  press.  In  the  making 
of  white  wine,  the  stems  and  hulls  are  removed  from  white 
grapes,  while  in  the  manufacture  of  red  wine,  entire  red 
grapes  are  used,  including  the  hulls,  as  the  color  of  red  wine 
comes  from  the  hulls.  Then  the  juice,  or  must,  as  it  is 


136 


known,  is  expressed  and  exposed  to  the  process  of  fermen- 
tation. 

Unlike  the  manufacture  of  beer  and  other  spirits,  no  yeast 
is  added  to  begin  the  process.  The  must  is  placed  in  wooden 
casks,  and  living  yeast  cells  in  it  begin  to  act  on  the  sugar 
and  produce  fermentation.  The  art  required,  as  the  process 
continues,  largely  is  clean  and  careful  handling.  There 
follows  "racking,"  or  the  separation  of  the  bright  wine 
from  the  deposit,  and  "fining,"  which  is  the  elimination  of 
the  suspended  matter.  After  a  period,  varying  from  two  to 
four  years,  according  to  the  sort  of  wine  being  made,  the 
wine  is  ready  for  bottling.  Some  wines,  like  port,  are  kept 
in  wood  for  many  years  and  its  quality  thereby  changed  from 
year  to  year. 

Wines  got  their  names  from  the  districts  and  countries 
that  first  gave  the  distinct  types  to  the  world.  There  are 
hundreds  of  varieties,  ranging  in  color  from  purple  to 
white,  and  in  taste  from  sweet  to  dry,  dry  meaning  sour. 
Almost  any  degree  in  the  range  of  taste  may  be  secured  by 
blending  wines.  There  is  temptation,  of  course,  to  do  this 
by  artificial  methods,  but  the  matter  is  regulated  by  law. 

The  names  of  wines  have  come  to  represent  types,  and  in 
this  country  their  European  names  are  largely  followed. 
Thus  we  have  champagne,  claret,  burgundy  and  sauturnes 
from  France;  from  Italy,  Lacrima  Christi,  Marsala  and 
others;  from  Germany,  Moselle  and  Rhine  wines;  from 
Spain,  madeira  and  sherry;  from  Portugal,  port.  A 
famous  type  produced  in  the  United  States,  in  Ohio  around 
Lake  Erie,  is  "sparkling  catawba." 


137 


The  cheapest  and  most  largely  consumed  of  all  wines  are 
simple  red  wines  and  white  wines,  both  sweet  and  dry.  They 
are  the  light  wines  that  are  consumed  in  such  quantities  by 
the  peasants  of  Europe.  In  many  districts  the  wines  take 
the  place  of  water  for  drinking  purposes. 

Here  follows  a  description  of  each  of  the  wines  above 
mentioned,  since  they  are  among  the  most  popular  and  bet- 
ter known  of  the  many  sorts: 

Champagne — Gold  and  red;  sparkling,  dry  and  sweet. 
Claret — Red ;  astringent  and  sweet. 

Burgundy — Red  and  white;  still  and  sparkling;  dry  and 
slightly  astringent. 

Sauturnes — White ;  still  and  dry. 
Lacrima  Chrlsti — Red ;  sweet  and  delicate. 
Marsala — Similar  to  Madeira. 

Moselle — White;  still  and  sparkling;  soft,  delicate,  aro- 
matic. 

Rhine  Wine — Yellow;  still  and  sparkling,  dry,  aromatic. 
Madeira— Red  and  white;  still,  dry,  delicate. 
Sherry — White;  still,  strong,  spirituous. 
Port — Dark  purple  and  white;  still,  sweet,  astringent. 

Catawba — White  and  straw;  still  and  sparkling;  dry, 
sweet. 

Besides  its  use  as  a  beverage  and  in  cooking,  quantities  of 
wine  are  employed  in  the  manufacturing  of  medicines. 


138 


California  wine  especially  is  handled  in  Standard  Tank 
Cars.  In  shipping,  the  wine  must  be  kept  at  an  even  tem- 
perature, not  being  allowed  to  get  too  cold.  The  cars  are 
covered  with  mineral  wool,  with  a  wood  lagging  over  the 
wool  to  keep  it  dry.  Inside  the  tanks  are  covered  with 
paraffin  to  keep  the  wine  from  contact  with  the  steel. 

The  wine  industry  has  been  somewhat  demoralized  by  the 
prohibition  amendment  to  the  constitution,  but  many  pro- 
ducers have  continued  to  market  wine  as  a  beverage  by 
dealcoholizing  it. 


139 


CHAPTER     XL 


Water 


How  the  Tank  Car  Answers  the  "S.  O.  S."  Call 

for  Water 

S  among  mankind,  he  serves  best  who  serves  simplest, 
no  service  of  the  tank  car  is  more  appreciated  than 
its  transport  of  water.  Water  for  man  and  beast 
in  arid  deserts;  water  that  gives  life  to  plants  through  irri- 
gation; water  from  great  rivers  to  towns  and  villages  that 
have  suffered  a  long  drought — these  are  functions  in  which 
there  is  no  substitute  for  the  tank  car. 

Pure  drinking  waters  are  made  easily  available  to  com- 
munities where  the  water  happens  to  be  impure.  Spring 
waters  always  have  a  wide  market,  and  they  can  be  shipped 
in  great  quantities  in  tank  cars.  Construction  work  in  dry 
countries,  like  railroad  building,  can  proceed  without  fear 
of  interruption  for  lack  of  drink.  Armies  must  have  water 
even  if  they  can  not  get  food.  The  increasing  demand  for 
Standard  Tank  Cars  for  water  is  a  climatic  proof  of  their 
worth. 


140 


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CHAPTER     XLI 


Ideals  of  Business  Expressed  in 
Standard  Tank  Cars 


ITH  all  this  story,  the  uses  of  tank  cars  have  not  been 
exhausted.  So  important  an  adjunct  always  must 
be  prepared  to  respond  to  the  growth  of  industries. 
The  introduction  of  their  use  to  foodstuffs  opens  up  a  great 
and  wide  new  field.  But  the  purpose  of  this  book  is  not  a 
recitation  of  the  mere  mechanical  functions  of  the  tank  car. 
Its  place  in  American  life  is  bigger  than  that. 

Art  and  literature  follow  an  ideal  to  enrich  life  with 
beauty  and  truth.  The  law  would  maintain  justice  in  men's 
dealing  with  one  another.  Medicine  seeks  to  relieve  human 
suffering.  Now  business,  elevated  from  a  history  of  being 
an  unworthy  vocation,  has  found  an  equally  high  purpose 
in  rendering  unto  mankind  utilities. 

Economists,  who  have  thought  out  the  science  of  it,  say 
there  are  three  utilities  created  by  business.  They  are  form 
utilities,  which  is  manufacturing;  time  utilities,  which  con- 
sist in  holding  goods  or  property  from  a  period  when  the 
supply  is  great  and  the  demand  low  until  a  date  when  the 
opposite  is  true ;  and  place  utilities,  which  is  transportation. 

We  have  shown  you  that  tank  cars  create  great  place 
utilities,  and  we  feel  that  we  may  justly  place  the  ideals  of 
the  Standard  Tank  Car  Company  along  with  those  of  the 
arts  and  the  professions. 


141 


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